The trailer for Studio Ghibli’s THE WIND RISES is bittersweet. The beautifully animated Japanese film is surely going to garner an Academy Award nomination and will be lauded when it is released, but it also signals the end to an illustrious career for director Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki is one of the best known directors in Japan and is often compared to Steven Spielberg and Walt Disney for his unique and brilliant filmmaking style.
Miyazaki’s best known works, CASTLE IN THE SKY, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, SPIRITED AWAY, and most recently PONYO all share a fantastical and surreal nature that gives a unique charm to his films. THE WIND RISES does have fantasy sequences in the form of the main character’s dreams, but overall it takes a much more realistic tone. The film is based on the manga about the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of fighter planes during World War II.
Miyazaki is definitely going out on a high note even if this film may not be what fans have come to expect from the director of Studio Ghibli. Expect to see a lot of retrospectives on Miyazaki in the months to come.
THE WIND RISES will be released in the United States on February 21, 2014. No English language voice cast has been announced yet.
