Delayed Reaction: The Wind Rises

Premise: The story of Japanese aircraft designer Jiro Horikoshi.

 

This is the last of the Miyazaki movies that I'm in any hurry to see. Lupin the 3rd: Castle of Cagliostro and Conan the Future Boy: The Big Giant Robot's Resurrection are not priorities. Maybe I’ll get to Porco Rosso sooner than later. At the time, Miyazaki announced that The Wind Rises would be his last film. I believe he'd announced that about other movies too, but 7 years later, it appears to be true this time. You can feel it in this movie too. It's the most grounded thing he's made. The only thing actually magical about it is Jiro's recurring dreams. Otherwise, it's a pretty straight biopic.

 

That said, this is still full of "Miyazaki magic". The movie has a dream-like quality, especially when he's at the summer resort where he meets his wife. I like how, at that point, the movie sort of forgets what it's about and decides it would rather be a romance movie. The way the movie ends had me thinking about the Good Will Hunting "I have to see about a girl" ending. It's not the same situation as The Wind Rises, but the vibe felt oddly similar. It's fitting as Miyazaki's last movie, because it spends a lot of time looking back. I almost get the feeling that Miyazaki is saying he would've done things differently. From all indications, he's had a good and long marriage. Not the best relationship with his sons though. I suppose that’s his regret.

 

I guess this movie wasn't incredibly accurate to Jiro Horikoshi's life, and that's ok. This is more mood piece than historical document anyways. I'm certainly going to miss having more Miyazaki movies to discover. Maybe I will get desperate at some point and track those other three down. Or maybe I'll switch to Hirmasa Yonebayashi's movies.

 

Verdict: Strongly Recommend