PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Leo Baudinet As I child I watch about 20 times the marvelous movie Spirited Away. For two years, I started to get interested in cinema so that to watch all the masterpieces the cinema has to offer. Thus, it was time to watch all of the brilliant Japanese director's movies.The Wind Rises is just astonishing and differs a lot about all that Miyazaki did before. This movie is much more realistic than Miyazaki previous works. Obviously, every single movie presents different characteristics (My Neigbor Totoro is more childish for example) but the main point is often Man's position on Earth or the Universe. In The Wind Rises, Miyazaki deals with the position of Man in his own life and our relation with our dreams.The topics which provide to the movie a very realistic aspect are quite hard: Natural disaster, Disease, War... Nevertheless, Miyazaki superbly brings to light Dreams and Humanity through lovely characters (Jiro, Caproni, Naoko, Honjo, Castorp, Kurokawa)."Le Vent se lève... il faut tenter de vivre"Thanks Hayao Miyazaki

Tweekums This film, Hayao Miyazaki's last, tells a fictionalised account of the life of the aircraft designer Jiro Horikoshi. From a young age Jiro dreams of flying although his poor eyesight means he will never be a pilot. After reading a magazine article he dreams of meeting Italian aircraft designer Giovanni Battista Caproni; after this he decides to pursue a career in aircraft design. As he travels to college by train he is caught up in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. On the train he meets Naoko and after the earthquake he helps her and her injured maid. After graduating he finds work at Mitsubishi and it is clear that Japanese aircraft design is far behind that of the west but he and his friend Kiro Honjo are determined to help them catch up. After an early setback Jiro takes some time off and bumps into Naoko again and a romance soon blossoms. She tells him that she has tuberculosis but after some time in a sanatorium they are married. He continues to work and makes great advances… there are storm clouds on the horizon though; Japan is on the road to war and Jiro's planes are destined to play a key part in that self-created national disaster.I had put off watching this film for a long time as I didn't want there to be no new Miyazaki films to watch; having finally watched it I can say it was not in any way disappointing. This is Miyazaki's most grown up work and it doesn't shy away from tragedy; either personal of national. As one would expect from Studio Ghibli the animation is amazing. There are no static background characters; everybody is moving in a vibrant but not overly exaggerated manner. Not surprisingly the flying scenes are beautiful. The characters are interesting as are their stories; the fact that many items of Jiro's life as depicted in the film don't match reality doesn't matter as it doesn't claim to be a true record of what happened. This is one of Ghibli's more emotional films; only Isao Takahata's 'Grave of the Fireflies' is sadder at the end as this story doesn't shy away from showing the consequences of Jiro's aircraft designs or give us a happy ending to Naoko's story. Overall I'd say this was a great film; it might not have the universal appeal as Mayazaki's other films but it is a must see for older fans of his work and a fitting farewell to this master animator.

siderite The film is an interesting melange of Japanese literature, culture and history. It will also disappoint many of Miyazaki's fantasy fans, as this is a biographical movie. In truth, it is based on two different works, one is the diary of the aeronautical engineer who designed the famous Japanese Zero fighter, and the other is a story of two girls in a tuberculosis sanatorium (in truth, Jiro's wife did not have TBC).Yet the details capture also some of the things closer to Miyazaki's heart: a commentary on the current state of Japan, a hopeful dream for a person who is losing his sight and his passion for flying and for kind independent young women. All in all it might feel a little dry sometimes, but only until you understand that the source material was a diary that has 80% of it containing aeronautical design ideas and calculations.Perhaps a two hour film about a quiet dreamer of plane designs is not what I would have chosen for Miyazaki's last animation movie, but it wasn't my choice after all. While his artistic expression cannot be stopped - he is still drawing manga and doing other stuff - he publicly announced that this would be his last film, the reason being his worsening eyesight. Considering the first scene of the movie is of a myopic boy who dreams of flying a plane and then crashing because he can't see well, I would say that's a pretty direct statement from the genius animator.It doesn't matter if I recommend this movie or not. If you are a fan of Ghibli and Miyazaki you will watch it anyway, while if you are not, you can try some other stuff of his, become a die hard fan, and find yourself in a situation already solved previously (that's engineering humor, BTW)

Counthaku *Warning- Spoilers* Where to start. The seemingly effortless animation, the trademark Studio Ghibli expressions and style, the side characters (i.e. Jiro's boss, Mr. Kurokawa) so full of life, the background characters who genuinely seem to have personalities of their own, the juxtaposition of classical music with the destruction of Japan, the character study of an altruistic, idealistic man who sees his efforts ultimately go up in flames- The Wind Rises doesn't fit neatly in the typical three act structure of most films, yet despite this lack of the usual narrative arc, it's completely engrossing from start to finish. Though I would still rank Spirited Away as Miyazaki's crowning achievement, this film is, in a way, in a different category from Spirited Away, and many of the other Ghibli movies, for that matter. It lacks any blatantly fantastical character and because of this deals with mature themes such as regret and moral ambiguity in a way that feels much more piercing.That final scene is an unbelievable mix of tragedy and optimism. It's implied that Japan is in ruins thanks to Jiro's work, his wife has succumbed to tuberculosis, and the 10 best years of Jiro's life are behind him. Yet "live," Jiro's deceased wife urges him. And so he does, joining his Italian hero for drinks.