Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises was released in US cinemas ten years ago today. On February 21st 2014, what was then to be the legendary animator’s final film made its way to the US, being the last Studio Ghibli film released under Disney (similarly being one of the last films to be released under the ‘Touchstone’ banner before Disney retired the label).
The Wind Rises was sort of a quasi-biopic, telling a (largely fictionalized) story about the life of Jiro Horikoshi, a Japanese WWII airplane designer, and how the looming war would curse Jiro’s pure dreams of wanting to design beautiful flying machines. The film was a unique entry into Miyazaki’s catalogue, as it was the director’s first film since Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro to not feature any fantasy or sci-fi elements (though such elements were incredibly scarce in Porco Rosso, with the obvious exception of the main character’s face being magically transformed to that of a pig). But given the more serious subject matter of The Wind Rises, none of the characters perform physics-defying feats as those featured in Cagliostro or Porco Rosso.
That’s not to say that The Wind Rises didn’t feature any of Miyazaki’s fantastic animated wizardry, however. Miyazaki uses the literal idea of Jiro Horikoshi’s dreams to still give the film some surreal elements, as Jiro comes face-to-face with his future inventions and the man who inspired him, Giovanni Battista Caproni.
Like all of Miyazaki’s films, The Wind Rises is nothing short of a visual feast, featuring some of the most captivating hand-drawn animation you will ever see. The hauntingly beautiful images of the film (and the emotional musical score, courtesy of course by the one and only Joe Hisaishi) compliment the underlying melancholy throughout the film. The Wind Rises is a film about love, loss, and how the purity of our dreams can themselves be corrupted.
Miyazaki had previously attempted retirement with Princess Mononoke, before being inspired to create Spirited Away (itself going to be a “one-time return” before Miyazaki stepped back into retirement). Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo would follow after that, but with The Wind Rises, Miyazaki seemed to be ready to retire once again. Thankfully for the rest of us, even that retirement didn’t stick (though it did last longer than the director’s previous attempts), as in 2023 Hayao Miyazaki released his latest masterpiece, The Boy and the Heron (known by the more appropriate title ‘How do you Live?’ in its native Japan). Though The Wind Rises didn’t end up being the master filmmaker’s swansong, it would have been a fitting way to wrap up an unparalleled career. It is a most beautiful film.
Happy 10th (US) Anniversary, The Wind Rises!
Wizard Dojo 