![]() ![]() The film, produced by Miyazaki's acclaimed Studio Ghibli, presents Jiro (voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the English-language version, leading an all-star cast) as a gentle soul. But Miyazaki has said he didn't mean to be political, wanting simply to portray the story of someone who pursued his huge dream with talent and drive. One could also see the film as a pacifist statement - showing how a thing of beauty was turned into a killing machine. Some have asked why Miyazaki would focus on a man whose creation was ultimately used to kill so many. The film is based on Jiro Horikoshi, the engineer who designed the Zero fighter plane used in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. In a dream, he encounters the famous Italian aeronautical engineer Giovanni Caproni, who tells him not to worry - it's even better to build planes than to fly them.Ĭaproni is not a fictional character - and neither is Jiro. He yearns to be a pilot, but is nearsighted. What IS beauty? Jiro, whom we first meet as a country boy in Japan, finds beauty in the design of an airplane. If this is indeed Miyazaki's swan song - he's announced his retirement, but not everyone believes it - then it's a worthy one, if perhaps not his most satisfying work, and certainly not his simplest. ![]() Miyazaki's latest film, "The Wind Rises," nominated for the animated feature Oscar, happens to take that concept of the subjectivity of beauty and address it in a way that's touching, troubling, and above all, totally unique. A revered master of animation, the Oscar-winning director/writer makes something as simple as a hazy sky so ravishing, it can take your breath away. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but few could justifiably question the beauty of a Hayao Miyazaki film. Review: Miyazaki explores beauty, ambition, dreams ![]()
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