The Wind Rises: Through The Wind of Dreams and Ambition
Written by Nicolas Ciu (Kru’21)
“All I wanted to do was to make something beautiful” — Jiro Horikoshi
This year’s viral sensation, ‘Oppenheimer’ has led me to explore more about Studio Ghibli’s modern-classic biopic of Jiro Horikoshi ‘The Wind Rises’. With Miyazaki’s latest flick ‘The Boy and The Heron’ just around the corner, I felt like I must revisit and write about this movie.
The story revolves around the life and journey of a Japanese aeronautical engineer, Jiro Horikoshi, a man with great ambitions who ultimately regrets his own creation. Set against the backdrop of World War II, the film’s portrayal of this historical period has sparked controversy for it is considered romanticizing a dark military history. But with the controversy set apart, I believe that The Wind Rises is a beautiful poignant movie worth watching. It is a movie about dreams, passion, ambition, and love.
Horikoshi’s deep love and passion for aircraft led him to create murderous warcrafts, some of them were even used in the attack of Pearl Harbour during World War II. His extraordinary talent emerged at an unfortunate time. He could only see airplanes, gracefully flying in the sky, without realizing the consequences at that time. He was blinded by his dreams and ambition. Apart from that, the Wind Rises also touches on Horikoshi’s personal and love life with Nahoko which I think is an essential addition to the story.
The Wind Rises may not be necessarily a biopic as it has a bit of a fiction added, but it’s not a Miyazaki’s movie without the magical fantasy element. But don’t worry, the mystical elements are used wisely in this movie. Looking back to previous Ghibli movies, flying has always been a symbol for Miyazaki to bring the audiences to feel the magic. This time, flying is used to bring the audiences inside the mind of Horikoshi, or more so inside the “Kingdom of Dreams”. Furthermore, it amplifies the shifting perspective of young and playful Horikoshi’s dream to when he has finished his creation. Instead of interrupting the realism of the story, it adds much more to the character.
I think this is what fascinates me the most, the fusion of realism and romance in a balanced way, blending a true story with Studio Ghibli’s distinctive style through the lens of Hayao Miyazaki delivering an unforgettable experience. And we haven’t even talked about the soundtrack from Joe Hisaishi that truly enhances the story.
The Wind Rises might be Miyazaki’s most personal movie to date. In a 2011 interview for Cut Magazine, Miyazaki said that everyone kept asking him why he would make a movie about a man who made weapons of war. But then he remembered Horikoshi once said, “All I wanted to do was to make something beautiful”. That moment, he knew what he had to do. At some point, the story resonates with Miyazaki himself.
The Wind Rises is an effective biopic with a poetic story, the one that drives you to learn more about the history and the characters. It is yet another story that reminds us how dangerous a man made creation could be as well as how beautiful a biopic movie could be made. While it might be weightier and more mature than most of Studio Ghibli’s movies and it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I could say that this is my favorite Studio Ghibli movie to date.
