The Filmaholic Reviews: The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu) (2013)

The Lowdown: News of Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement last year was sad news, but if The Wind Rises is to be his last film, then he couldn’t have left a more heartfelt farewell. The Wind Rises, or Kaze Tachinu, is a beautiful film, as beautiful as any of his other works, but it may be his most personal project. It is certainly different from any of his previous works. Those looking for fantastic worlds and magic and adventure like in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle will not find those here. Instead, The Wind Rises plays out like a memory, grounding itself in realism and providing a haunting, layered retrospective on Japan before and during World War II. It is a slow-burner, but this may be Miyazaki’s most mature work, and it is one of his best.
1. The Plot: Jiro Horikoshi (dubbed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt for the English dub, which I saw) dreams of airplanes. Being nearsighted from a young age, he knows that he cannot become a pilot, but he resolves to become an aircraft engineer. The film follows the course of his life as he eventually grows up to work at an airplane manufacturer, which has contracts with the Japanese military to build fighter planes for the war. Meanwhile, Jiro finds love in Naoko (dubbed by Emily Blunt), a young girl who he saved when the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 hit. Still, Jiro struggles to building the perfect aircraft, all the while observing the crushing socio-economic and political situation of Japan.

Jiro dreams of airplanes. 

2. The Characters:    Jiro is film’s main character. Despite being soft-spoken and almost stubbornly adamant in following his dreams of designing airplanes, Jiro is a righteous human being, as shown when he saves Naoko and her maid after an earthquake hits and derails their train. It is no wonder why Naoko falls in love with him. Jiro may be an all-around nice guy, however, but he functions as the naïve, quiet observer to the drastic changes occurring in the world around him. The war, the crumbling economy, and the tense political situation are all observed and commented on by Jiro and his cynical friend Honjo (voiced by John Krasinski), but ultimately, these issues are far too big for them and out of their control.

   Naoko, Jiro’s love interest, is voiced by Emily Blunt. After Jiro saved her from the earthquake, they lost contact with each other. When the two unexpectedly cross paths later in life, they fall in love. Naoko’s character functions as a driving force in Jiro’s life so that he may someday achieve what he intends to achieve. She is a source of happiness in Jiro’s life, one that has been difficult due to the war and Japan’s desperate struggle to step out of the dark ages.

   The colorful cast of supporting characters include Caproni (voiced by Stanley Tucci), an Italian plane designer who appears to Jiro in his dreams and provides him with inspiration and advice. Jiro’s sister, Kayo (voiced by Mae Whitman), is fierce and outspoken, which contrasts with Jiro’s calm, quiet demeanor. However, she is determined to go to medical school and become a doctor, just as Jiro is determined to build airplanes. Mr. Satomi, voiced by William H. Macy, is Naoko’s father. Kurokawa, voiced by Martin Short, is Jiro’s cranky, impatient boss at work. Castorp, voiced by Werner Herzog, is a German man whose critical views of Hitler and the Japanese political situation cause him to flee, fearing arrest by the secret police.
3. Controversy:    The Wind Rises came with its share of controversy upon release, mainly due to the political opinions voiced in the film. Some criticized Miyazaki’s decision to make the main character of the film a designer of Japanese fighter planes, which were undoubtedly responsible for many deaths during the war. Others were critical of the film’s anti-war messages. There were even parallels drawn between the film’s depiction of an earthquake and economic crisis and the 2011 earthquake and Japan’s current economic situation. Some even went so far as to call Miyazaki “anti-Japanese”. Heck, there was even criticism over the depiction of smoking in the film! It's a period film for goodness sakes!

Hey, remember when smoking became a bad thing and now it never existed throughout all of history?

            I contend that The Wind Rises should not be tarnished by the controversy. Rather, the fact that there is controversy over the film’s content strengthens the film’s messages. World War II is still a sensitive subject to this day; there was too much change that occurred far too quickly, and there were too many negative effects as a result of it. The problem with these criticisms over the film is that they are too narrow-minded. The film takes a broader, if more abstract, view.  Nationalism was largely restrained in the film; no pro-Japanese sentiments were bluntly stated in the film. Commentary from the characters in the film provided insight into how the drastic changes in Japan were affecting their lives, often negatively. For instance, Jiro and Honjo travel to their new job, only to find that the collapse of a bank has also collapsed the company. However, the characters make the best of the situation in order to persevere and live on, and that is the film’s true message. War can hardly be called a good thing, and the great losses suffered in war should indeed be lamented, but life goes on, and sometimes things must get worse before they get better. Still, one should not forget the past, but rather embrace it and learn from past mistakes. Miyazaki’s pacifist view shows admirable restraint, yet is brutally honest, and that is what makes the film so thought-provoking.

The Bottom Line: The Wind Rises is poignant and inspiring, ambitious and intelligent, beautiful and bittersweet. This is a unique animated film, offering a mature, realistic, and uncompromising, if restrained, view of sensitive subjects. It may be a work of fiction, but it is relevant all the same. It is gorgeously animated, as is the norm for a Studio Ghibli production. Miyazaki ends on a high note for sure. Really, The Wind Rises is about as good as animated films get. Hayao Miyazaki, thank you for everything.

Studio Ghibli forever.

The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu) is property of Studio Ghibli, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners. This review was written by me.
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