To quote myself in a previous post, "I madly, and I mean MADLY in love with Hayao Miyazaki (seriously, I would pull an Anna Nicole Smith and marry the guy but it wouldn't even be for the money- strictly for love)." My memories of watching Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle with my eyes wide in awe and child-like wonderment are some that I hold closest to my heart. Despite their animated existence, I fell in love with every single one of his vibrant characters. Chirio, Haku and Kamaji from Spirited Away, Ponyo and Risa in Ponyo, Howl, Sofi and Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle barely graze the surface of the list of characters created by the magical imagination of Hayao Miyazaki.
Described as Miyazaki's "swan song" as he claims it is his last (which he has done before, though he insists he is "quite serious" this time), The Wind Rises follows a boy named Jiro with a dream of designing planes as he grows into a young man and becomes an aeronautical engineer. Along the way, he meets a lovely young woman with tuberculosis with whom he falls head over heels in love and eventually marries. Though not as mystical and fantastical as his other films, The Wind Rises is nonetheless charming and absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous. Every scene is a work of art in itself, bursting at the cinematic seams with vibrant colors that completely engross the audience.
Jiro and his career seem to be a clear parallel for Miyazaki and his. First of all, Miyazaki was raised by a plane designer who made rudders for WWII planes. He also remarks that living during a war where he would hear bomb raids regularly had a lasting impression on him. His thoughts on war manifest themselves clearly in the plot of The Wind Rises. Miyazaki also suffered from tuberculosis as a child, another parallel in the film as Jiro's wife has the same condition.
There are more subtle symbolic tones demonstrating parallels as well. Jiro designs flawed plane after flawed plane until he finally creates a masterpiece before declaring the end of his career. At one point, a character in the film declares that artists only have "10 years of creativity" and asks Jiro how he felt he spent his and though I cannot remember his exact answer, it is somewhere along the lines of "to the fullest" (it was in Japanese anyway so I could never even try to quote that).
Seeing this movie was a bittersweet experience for me. Every tiny aspect that comprised the film from the animation to the soundtrack tugged at my heartstrings, and I walked out of the theater beaming at having just witnessed such a beautiful story on screen but also saddened to realize it may be my last time seeing a new Miyazaki film.
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| One of the best movies ever made. No debate. |
Jiro and his career seem to be a clear parallel for Miyazaki and his. First of all, Miyazaki was raised by a plane designer who made rudders for WWII planes. He also remarks that living during a war where he would hear bomb raids regularly had a lasting impression on him. His thoughts on war manifest themselves clearly in the plot of The Wind Rises. Miyazaki also suffered from tuberculosis as a child, another parallel in the film as Jiro's wife has the same condition.
There are more subtle symbolic tones demonstrating parallels as well. Jiro designs flawed plane after flawed plane until he finally creates a masterpiece before declaring the end of his career. At one point, a character in the film declares that artists only have "10 years of creativity" and asks Jiro how he felt he spent his and though I cannot remember his exact answer, it is somewhere along the lines of "to the fullest" (it was in Japanese anyway so I could never even try to quote that).
Seeing this movie was a bittersweet experience for me. Every tiny aspect that comprised the film from the animation to the soundtrack tugged at my heartstrings, and I walked out of the theater beaming at having just witnessed such a beautiful story on screen but also saddened to realize it may be my last time seeing a new Miyazaki film.
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| I hope he accepts my marriage proposal |
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