The Wind Rises

• Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
• July 20, 2013
• Based on 風立ちぬ by Hayao Miyazaki

Voice Cast

• Jirô Horikoshi-Joseph Gordon-Levitt
• Young Jirô-Zach Callison
• Honjô-John Krasinski
• Nahoko Satomi-Emily Blunt
• Young Nahoko-Madeleine Yen
• Kurokawa-Martin Short
• Caproni-Stanley Tucci
• Hattori-Mandy Patinkin
• Kayo Horikoshi, Kinu-Mae Whitman
• Young Kayo-Eva Bella
• Castorp-Werner Herzog
• Mrs. Kurokawa-Jennifer Grey
• Satomi-William H. Macy
• Jirô’s Mother-Edie Mirman
• Katayama-Darren Criss
• Sone-Elijah Wood
• Mitsubishi Employee-Ronan Farrow
• Flight Engineer-David Cowgill
• Additional Voices-Matt Adler, Holly Dorff, Moosie Drier, Jackie Gonneau, Nicholas Guest, Richard Steven Horvitz, Rif Hutton, Matthew Labyorteaux, Michelle Ruff, Byron Thames, Madeleine Whittle, and David Zyler

A fictionalized biography of Jirô Horikoshi who designed the Mitsubishi A5M fighter as well as the Mitsubishi A6M Zero used by the Empire of Japan during World War II.

My description pretty much says do not go into The Wind Rises expecting to learn much of anything. Calling this “fictionalized” is being kind as I read up on the real life Jirô Horikoshi after viewing and I had a hard time connecting much of what is here with the individual. In that it fits squarely with many biographies coming right out of Hollywood.

I was particularly intrigued by the idea of a biographical film-even a fictionalized biography-using animation rather than live action. I had no doubt this would be visually stunning, but would it be entertaining knowing the connection to reality?

I am guessing Jirô Horikoshi is a much larger figure in Japan meaning the fictional elements (beyond the dream moments) are easier to discern there than in other countries. I doubt most would get that Jirô Horikoshi had an older brother and not a worshipful younger sister.

Jirô Horikoshi is portrayed as an innovator and a dreamer viewing his nation and its aircraft industry as backwards. He is a man of peace yet produces work for the military. They barely touch on that aspect even though much of this movie takes place during WWII and his work is helping Japan. He comes off as almost the Japanese equivalent of Thomas Edison.

They don’t even mention the attack on Pearl Harbor nor the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan. In fact, you would be not at fault if you missed that World War II was occurring. The only hint is a mention of making bombers for the Japanese military. I was just a little surprised when this movie ended and the ending takes place after the finale of World War II. That the war is over is just casually mentioned. I do not need hand wringing or anything over what Japan was doing or the moral implications of using nuclear weaponry but this story is happening during a major global conflict so SOMETHING is appropriate.

The Wind Rises is more to build a mythology of the man and get the point across that he was a visionary and a man dedicated to his work and not necessarily to war. While I applaud the attempt I think it could be done by telling a truer story and not completely making up one.

I’m not anti-smoking but there was a f**k ton of smoking in this movie. If these were a film with real people they and the film crew would be dead from smoke inhalation. These days such a thing is very noticeable as even the most despicable of characters are forbidden from lighting up yet here not only does our main character smoke like a chimney so do many of the major characters to the point it feels excessive. All that was missing was The Marlboro Man.

Though this is clearly aimed at family, there are elements of secret police and disease and scenes of earthquakes. They do not shy away from too many harsher elements despite the lack of war. It’s all interspersed with fantasy elements mixed with dreams and reality to help tell the story and get their points across.

I really expected Jirô to actually meet the Italian aircraft designer Caproni that he kept dreaming about. Again, knowing nothing about the person at the time of viewing it seemed like it would occur. But the film ends without the two ever having actually met outside of Jirô’s dreams. Caproni served as inspiration for Jirô and not as a real-life person. I guess you could look at him as a spirit that pointed Jirô in the direction of his destiny and kept him on that path.

There are plenty of the expected characters you would find in Japanese animation. The hard on the hero boss. The affable company president. The hero’s loyal-as-a-dog best friend. Despite being stock characters all are well crafted and individual. Under a lesser director in a lesser film they could easily have fallen into being two dimensional caricatures rather than be given distinct motivations and evolving personalities.

This is just a wonderfully done film. It has trauma and emotion and just great characters. If I had any complaints they would be that it was not an accurate portrayal of the man’s life and chose to create massive fiction to tell the story it had to tell. But even so it’s a beautifully done work of fiction. And this is a movie so good looking that you could turn the sound off and just enjoy it for its visuals. A truly beautifully rendered piece of animation. And that’s what you get with something hand drawn with the minimal use of effects to tell the story.

The Wind Rises is a beautiful film with an excellent story crafted by a master storyteller. It is a fine piece of drama with wonderful visuals. This is art and a must see!