Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

ElMaruecan82 ... maybe that's Miyazaki's secret, finally unveiled in his latest movie: "The Wind Rises".You know, it's been three months since I discovered his work… and I never had to experience any kind of disappointment. And although I got used to his unequaled capability to catch my eyes and my heart, some of his movies really hit a sensitive chord, like "Kiki" or "Ponyo" and perhaps the action-less moments of "Nausicaa".But I can't really describe the effect "The Wind Rises" had on me. For one thing, I'm glad I'm discovering it late because it's the film that best captures Miyazaki's love for airplanes. His passion never went unnoticed; how could it be? Almost half of his movies involve airplanes, flying devices or stunts in the air, but there has always been an element of fantasy that distracted from the personal approach he had to flying, even in "Porco Rosso" which was the most explicit homage to the Italian contribution to aviation.But "The Wind Rises" made me realize how fantasy is perhaps the sincerest medium to convey passionate matters, because -to put it simply- it's all about dreams and vision that wait for the right wind to carry them a little and give them that extra push they need for flying. "The wind has risen, one must try to live" is the excerpt from Paul Valéry's poem that novelist Hori Tatsuo used as an inspiration for a tragic romance, and who else than Miyazaki could explore such a story, he who had dedicated all his life to things in the air, from feelings to… plain things (pun intended). One thing he had in common with Jiro Horikochi, the main protagonist.The film deals with planes in a way that has never been touched by Miyazaki, it's not about flying but about the dreams of flying, their very blossoming in the fertile soil of a man's mind. In fact, the film is less devoted to planes than to the devotion of a boy, then a man, who designed the Imperial Army's most notorious aircraft. They were used in the war but the film has a point to make about war. Miyazaki believes in Jiro's humanism and expresses it through very riveting dreamy moments. Jiro is a dreamer, literally, and whenever he dreams, he meets his all-time idol, Italian Giovanni Caproni. Together they share their views about planes, their universal appeal and sadly their belligerent uses (or misuses).But don't get it wrong, just because it's in the poetic vicinity of Miyazaki's usual works, the film is as realistic as any serious biography picture, although fictionalized with a romance adapted from the "Wind Has Risen" novel and many events that struck Japan from the Great Depression to Kanto's earthquake, and last but not least, the war. Jiro is portrayed as a witness of his time who must adapt to the evolution of society, a two-pace society with a feudal heritage yet trying to match the Meiji dream. The most emblematic image is the prototype being pulled by ox. This is Miyazaki's most personal film, it has Japan, it has humanism and well, it has planes. And to give you an idea, this film is far more revealing about Jiro than "A Beautiful Mind" with John Nash. There was something so catching in Jiro's passion, in the way he kept focused on his job. I could even feel I was venturing into his mind as if Miyazaki met him in his dreams before making this film. I have no clues about planes but I do love a movie about passion, this is a film about a man who loves planes by a man who loves them. To judge a good biopic, I guess it all comes to the area of passion driving the maker. Having thick glasses, Giro could never fly but Caproni almost rhymes with epiphany, the Italian icon tells him that he can't even fly a plane, but there's just something far more exhilarating than creating. And Miyazaki wouldn't disagree.The heart of the film is centered on the romance between Jiro and a gentle tuberculosis stricken girl, like Hori's wife who inspired the novel. And whenever they meet, the wind rises and make their encounter possible. Air is our universal heritage, in the film, it reunites people and give a proper meaning to their life. This air so fragile in "Nausicaa", this air that symbolizes peace in a world that prepares to war and about which the post-apocalyptic Nausicaa warned us. Miyazaki signs his best film. I enjoyed it so much it could have been twice longer, to the post-war period time.But the film culminates with the tragic ending and doesn't show much of the war. It is anticlimactic to use a technical term, but I guess it's a fine ending because there wasn't much to add about Jiro once he designed the prototype, once the plane that started as a concept hidden behind a fish bone became a technological marvel. The film is dedicated to the engineer and to the poet. And the verse "The Wind Rises, one must try to live" is so beautiful it could work as an epitaph for Hayao Miyazaki, summing up his best contribution to animation: inviting us to dream, to pursue our dreams and to take them seriously like a poet, a bit like an engineer, always like a dreamer.This is one of the greatest animated movies of recent times, and given how critical I was about "Frozen", I was shocked that it won the Oscar. From what I read, there was some controversy surrounding the peaceful nature of Jiro, a sugarcoating of the war and an overuse of smoking. I'd say "The Wind Rises" deserved better than being beaten by a film that tried to play the "socially relevant" card to death. But the masterpiece flies over "Frozen" like a zeppelin over a fish bone.

MartinHafer "The Wind Rises" is a highly fictionalized version of the early years of aeronautical engineers Jiro Hirokoshi and Tatsuo Hori...with a very strong emphasis on Jiro. The fact Hiyao Miyazaki would make such a film isn't all that surprising, since he seemed to have a real sentimental attitude towards early airplanes in several of his films (such as "Porco Rosso"). However, I was a bit surprised when I learned about the film since the planes these two men made for Mitsubishi were important components of the extremely nationalistic Japanese military of the 1930s and 40s...an era many would probably choose to forget.Not surprisingly, this is a Miyazaki film that is not at all intended for children. In fact, I wouldn't bother showing it to your younger audiences...they'd be bored. Plus some parents would object to all the smoking and cursing...and there's not a single Totoro or flying witch to be seen! As for me, I understand that many Japanese animated films are NOT intended for kids and that isn't a bad thing at all. In this case, Studio Ghibli managed to make one of the loveliest of all their films in "The Wind Rises". It is extremely touching in parts, especially when dealing with Jiro's fated romance. In fact, the film practically screams quality throughout and it's not at all surprising that it was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. Well worth seeing.Incidentally, Jiro's infamous Japanese Zero was interesting because by the end of the war almost every single one of these aircraft had been destroyed...and I wonder how he felt about this. Ironically, one of the few Zeros to survive did so because it was captured and taken to the States for testing and evaluation.

subxerogravity ...And the story is so excellent it could have been a live action film Studio Ghibli at it's best and animation at it's best. how did the Oscars pass up on this for the win!? Plus I'm showing favoritism as the movie is about one of my favorite subjects, Aviation.Somewhere in-between The Great War and World War II lies Jiro, a young Japanese man who becomes a fan of an Italian airplane designer and shares his dream (Literately in the sense of the movie) of designing air crafts, and the movie goes through his process, as well as him finding love.I don't know if this is a true story or how inspired by true events the movie is, but the Zero fighter that Jiro designs was used by the Japanese in World War 2. I do know the title comes form a poem. The Wind Rises, what a perfect title for a movie about Aviation.Anyway, The Wind Rises is like a painting in movement. the complete extension of what I want from animation. There was one scene in which Japan suffered an earthquake and with animation, they intensified the scene making it look like the ground just had a hiccup and caused all this chaos and destruction. it was brilliant.So I'm sorry, as good as Frozen is I think the Oscars made the wrong choice in not given the Wind Rises the trophy.

christineyoon Hayao Miyazaki had made many magical, fascinating animated motion pictures in his lifetime with Studio Ghibli. Some of these fantasy films include Spirited Away, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky, Howl's Moving Castle, and The Cat Returns. His last film, The Wind Rises, was recently released, and is like none of his previous animations. In the other movies, the characters are set in a bizarre, surreal, magnificent world on an unusual mission. In The Wind Rises, however, there is no unseen, amazing world. Rather, the story is set in Japan, and it revolves around an airplane designer, Jiro Horikoshi. What Miyazaki does to bring the story to life is focus and discover the beauty in times most people don't see beauty. For example, work can be drudgery and an annoying aspect of life. However, Miyazaki sees work as a time of inspiration and an opportunity to display one's skills. The rain can be gross and make one feel dank, but Miyazaki sees it as a beautiful experience and an opportunity to hold close to a loved one under a small umbrella. By focusing on the different views, Miyasaki had made The Wind Rises just as enchanting as his surreal animations. The Wind Rises is extremely captivating in animation and thought. The story was based on true events, so it was realistic, yet it shows that life can be fantastic when looked at in the right perspective. In this picture, Jiro Horikoshi has vivid dreams of designing airplanes throughout his life. Along his journey, he faces a devastating Japanese earthquake and later meets his soul mate, who was dying. In the end, Jiro builds the "Zero" jet, later reminiscing about the creation and speaking sadly by the thousands of deaths caused by the "Zero" planes in the military. This film elicits giggles, smiles, and tears, getting to the hearts of the people.