The great Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s new film, which moves elliptically from early 20th century Japan through the earthquake of 1923 to the aftermath of World War II, was inspired by the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed the Zero fighter plane. Miyazaki’s father worked in the aviation industry, and he shares his principled, contemplative hero’s passionate love of engineering and longing for flight—it’s at the heart of the film’s story, its visionary imagery, and its poetic refrains and touchstones (the title is from a poem by Valéry—"The wind is rising! We must try to live"). The Wind Rises is something wondrous—a pacifist film with a protagonist who understands that his country is headed for disaster but pursues his dream. It’s also a great and astonishingly beautiful work—and quite a controversial one in Japan—about the fragility of humanity and the pursuit of love.
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ENGLISH-LANGUAGE CAST FOR THE WIND RISES
Joseph Gordon-Levitt — main character Jiro Horikoshi
Emily Blunt — love interest Nahoko Satomi
John Krasinski — Honjo, Jiro's college pal and fellow aviation engineer
Martin Short — Kurokawa, Jiro's grumpy boss
Stanley Tucci — Caproni, Italian airplane creator
Mandy Patinkin — Hattori, senior designer at Mitsubishi
William H. Macy — Satomi, Nahoko's father
Werner Herzog — the mysterious Castorp
Mae Whitman — Kayo, Jiro's younger sister, as well as Kinu, Nahoko's caretaker
Jennifer Grey — Mrs. Kurokawa
Darren Criss — Katayama, one of Jiro's engineering colleagues
I thought it was good, one of my least favorite by him though. The characters were all flat, especially the main guy, that I didn't really feel anything like I did for his other movies.
oh my. my 3 favourite people.
