Last night we went to The Broadway cinema in Nottingham to go and see Miyazaki's final film, The Wind Rises.
As a huge Ghibli fan this film did not disappoint, and it did feel like Miyazaki waving a big goodbye and sharing with us all of his favorite things in one epic film - most prominently of course is aviation :)
'Jiro (who’s voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the excellent English dub) has been born into troubled times. Japan is stumbling into the modern age: recession, natural disaster and the threat of war float like fog above the shadowed landscape.
When Jiro travels from his rural home town to Tokyo in 1923, his train is derailed by the Great Kanto Earthquake — a devastating natural disaster which he experiences as a kind of premonition of the destruction his aeroplanes will one day bring about. Tokyo’s buildings lurch upwards while the ground grumbles and roars beneath them: one of many sound-effects generated by the animators’ voices. At times, it feels as if the film is reading itself aloud, like a living story-book.
Jiro is a staunch pacifist, but he continues to pursue his dream, either unable or unwilling to recognise that his designs will be used as instruments of slaughter. Is that contradiction a fault of the film, or of history and human nature? The Wind Rises leaves the point unsolved, but reminds us that an artist’s work will always belong to the days in which they live.'
- The Telegraph
The artwork in the film was especially stunning and totally transports you...
covering so much history and heartbreak, this film did feel epic and I would heartily recommend it to anyone, children and adults alike :)
What is your favorite Studio Ghibli film?
Lou x