Last weekend saw the official release of Hayao Miyazaki’s
final film “The Wind Rises”, a leisurely paced WWII drama about airplane
engineering, first loves, ambition and regret. It’s a sweeping melodrama, a
fanciful coming of age story, and an emotionally driven historical allegory all
in one, and, like many other Miyazaki films, it manages to weave in and out of
these modes seamlessly, despite its slightly saggy 126 minute run-time.
Working
as one of the last auteurs in post-Disney animation, Miyazaki films revel in an
organic quietude and classical storytelling, in a time in American animation when
loud, fast and 3D seems to be the most prominent aesthetic. “The Wind Rises”
takes his hand-painted, reserved technique even further, with an autumnal tone
that strips away most of the fantasy elements that made movies such as
“Princess Mononoke” and “My Neighbor Totoro” definitive Japanese imports.
From a
young age, Jiro Horikoshi (dubbed in English by Joseph Gordon Levit) dreamed of
a magical airspace where he could ride the wings of the crafts built by his
hero Caproni, an Italian airplane manufacture from the early turn of the
century. Driven by these reoccurring fantasies,
Jiro enrolls into engineering school, where he works late nights to accomplish
his goals, with very little social interactions. Later when he and his best
friend Honjo (John Krasinski) are hired by the Japanese government to help advance
their aero industry and catch up with the technologies of Europe and America,
Jiro must reconcile his ambitions for designing the perfect plane, while knowing
his inventions will be used in massive acts of violence in the oncoming War.
It’s
Miyazaki’s subtle power in narrative poetry that really brings to life this
multi-stranded story. From early on we know that the hopeful innocents of
Jiro’s goals are dimmed in the shadows of their consequences. When he meets his
future wife, as he is on his way to his first big job, the serene beauty of the
moment is devastated in an earthquake that derails their train and destroys the
city around them. Years later, when they meet again and fall in love, their
union is compromised when Nahoko (Emily Blunt) is diagnosed with tuberculosis.
All the while, their bittersweet romance is gracefully juxtaposed alongside
Jiro’s journey through moral tribulation as he and his colleagues reluctantly
build deadly war machines for the pride of Japanese nationalism.
“The
Wind Rises” is a complicated and beautifully executed piece of animation. The
craft and attention to the water-color backgrounds and the soft touches it
brings to every detail of every frame captures Miyazaki’s wistful tragedy
perfectly. However, unlike many of the other releases imported from Studio Ghibli,
this is not exactly a ‘fun’ movie, and though there is nothing explicitly adult
about it, it’s not really intended for children either. The languid pace of the
film is breathy and the scope is both intimate and spacious at the same time. Meaning,
it’s safe to say that the sophisticated storytelling of this cartoon would
probably have most kids under twelve shifting in their seats, and to be fair,
at times, it had me checking my watch as well.
With that said, there’s nothing here that’s begging to be cut but like
most movies it could probably benefit from a tighter trim. Regardless, those who can respect an impressionistic
style of animation should privilege themselves to the accumulative power of
Miyazaki’s last work.
Originally published in the Idaho State Journal/March -2014
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