The Wind Rises
3.5/4
Starring (voices): Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Krasinski, Martin Short, Stanley Tucci
Rated PG-13 for Some Disturbing Images and Smoking
"The Wind Rises" is Hayao Miyazaki's final film (although this must be taken with a grain of salt, since he has planned retirement many times), and it is a good one. It is also unlike anything that he has done before. His previous films, such as the legendary masterpiece "Spirited Away" or "Princess Mononoke" have relied heavily on fantasy. That's not the case here. With one minor exception, this is a fantasy free film (the dream sequences don't count because that's a different kind of fantasy). That doesn't mean that it's lacking in quality compared to his other films, because it is not. Rest assured, this is a very good movie.
Jiro Horikoshi (Gordon-Levitt) has always had a fascination with airplanes. He dreams about them, translates magazines that are in English in order to read about them, and would like nothing better than to fly one. But his poor eyesight prevents that from occurring, so he plans on designing them. He ends up creating the design for the infamous Japanese Zero. He also falls in love with a beautiful girl named Nahoko (Blunt), but she is sick with tuberculosis.
The voice acting is great. No one tries to steal the spotlight; in fact, it's hard to tell that some of these characters are voiced by famous actors. The names in the cast include the aforementioned Gordon-Levitt and Blunt, plus John Krasinski as Jiro's best friend and co-worker Honjo, Martin Short as his boss Kurokawa, and Stanley Tucci as the great engineer Caproni. William H. Macy, Mandy Patinkin, Mae Whitman, Jennifer Grey, Werner Herzog, Darren Criss and Elijah Wood also contribute their talents. None are recognizable.
Director Hayao Miyazaki's most famous quality has been the beauty and complexity of the images that he creates. That's the case here, although not in the same sense as his other films. They are more realistic, but no less gorgeous. Miyazaki also takes time to add the minutiae for realism. Even the Disney films use static backgrounds in their films, and limit the amount of characters and movement on screen because it takes less time and energy. Not so with Miyazaki. The backgrounds are alive, and it's filled with extra characters doing their own movements, such as smoking or running. He takes his time, and the film is all the more beautiful because of it.
Miyazaki has replaced his whimsical tone for something more somber and thoughtful. This is a more mature effort for him. Content-wise, there's really nothing objectionable in this film, but I don't think kids will be enamored with this movie. There's no real action in it. This is a talky and slow-moving effort.
Unfortunately, editing problems in the first 20 minutes prevent this film from receiving a 4/4. Additionally, the film is more understated emotionally than his other efforts, so I didn't get swooped up in the drama I was watching and listening to. Nevertheless, this is a truly special motion picture, and will certainly be on my Top 10 list this year, and probably near the top.
Starring (voices): Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Krasinski, Martin Short, Stanley Tucci
Rated PG-13 for Some Disturbing Images and Smoking
"The Wind Rises" is Hayao Miyazaki's final film (although this must be taken with a grain of salt, since he has planned retirement many times), and it is a good one. It is also unlike anything that he has done before. His previous films, such as the legendary masterpiece "Spirited Away" or "Princess Mononoke" have relied heavily on fantasy. That's not the case here. With one minor exception, this is a fantasy free film (the dream sequences don't count because that's a different kind of fantasy). That doesn't mean that it's lacking in quality compared to his other films, because it is not. Rest assured, this is a very good movie.
Jiro Horikoshi (Gordon-Levitt) has always had a fascination with airplanes. He dreams about them, translates magazines that are in English in order to read about them, and would like nothing better than to fly one. But his poor eyesight prevents that from occurring, so he plans on designing them. He ends up creating the design for the infamous Japanese Zero. He also falls in love with a beautiful girl named Nahoko (Blunt), but she is sick with tuberculosis.
The voice acting is great. No one tries to steal the spotlight; in fact, it's hard to tell that some of these characters are voiced by famous actors. The names in the cast include the aforementioned Gordon-Levitt and Blunt, plus John Krasinski as Jiro's best friend and co-worker Honjo, Martin Short as his boss Kurokawa, and Stanley Tucci as the great engineer Caproni. William H. Macy, Mandy Patinkin, Mae Whitman, Jennifer Grey, Werner Herzog, Darren Criss and Elijah Wood also contribute their talents. None are recognizable.
Director Hayao Miyazaki's most famous quality has been the beauty and complexity of the images that he creates. That's the case here, although not in the same sense as his other films. They are more realistic, but no less gorgeous. Miyazaki also takes time to add the minutiae for realism. Even the Disney films use static backgrounds in their films, and limit the amount of characters and movement on screen because it takes less time and energy. Not so with Miyazaki. The backgrounds are alive, and it's filled with extra characters doing their own movements, such as smoking or running. He takes his time, and the film is all the more beautiful because of it.
Miyazaki has replaced his whimsical tone for something more somber and thoughtful. This is a more mature effort for him. Content-wise, there's really nothing objectionable in this film, but I don't think kids will be enamored with this movie. There's no real action in it. This is a talky and slow-moving effort.
Unfortunately, editing problems in the first 20 minutes prevent this film from receiving a 4/4. Additionally, the film is more understated emotionally than his other efforts, so I didn't get swooped up in the drama I was watching and listening to. Nevertheless, this is a truly special motion picture, and will certainly be on my Top 10 list this year, and probably near the top.
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