Vanilla Kitty

The Wind Rises
Film By Hayao Miyazaki
Review by Vanilla Kitty

The wind rises is a movie by Hayao Miyazaki, about a boy called Jiro who dreams of flying planes, but can't because of his short sighted-ness. He has a dream about a famous aeroplane designer, Mr. Caproni, and decides he will design them instead. Years later he is travelling on a train to University when the Japan Earthquake of 1923 of hits. There are other major events in his life, but this one seems to be the most significant to how the story builds up.

 The movie is played out in different stages of his life, starting with him being about 10, and ending with him around 25. Each stage is about half an hour long, the first one being the shortest. Even though it is hard to get into, around 20 minutes into it and you will be hooked!
The characters were all unique and different, and there were some very funny parts in it, that made the cinema laugh.

However, although the movie made me laugh, it also made me smile, grimace and cry. It really is like you are watching a real persons life on a screen, so many ups and downs.

Characters
There were surprisingly a lot of characters in this Miyazaki film, compared to his other masterpieces such as Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service & Ponyo. It really was hard to choose a favourite character, but I really did like the guy who lived at the hotel with the massive nose. (Sorry about that, only people who have watched it will understand who I mean.)

Favourite parts
There are many parts I enjoyed in the animation, but by far the one that really scared me was the earthquake sequence. The rising of everything- All the houses and ground and, ugh, everything was coming up from it's usual place as if it was a giant wave- The massive groaning noise as if there was a demon under the ground, it completely freaked me out, I had to grab onto my dads arm. I could almost feel the hysteria of the people on the train.

Animation
The front layer animation really was just as amazing as all Miyazaki's other films. It was the Backgrounds that really set this animation apart from the others, the scenery was just so amazing and beautifully painted, I almost cried because of how much I wanted to live in one of them. The scene where the viewer gets a full shot of his house is absolutely gorgeous, it was his house, framed by a beautiful sky, and what I assume is a cherry blossom tree overhanging onto the wooden roof.


All, in all, I thought this film was one of the most emotional and compelling animations I have ever seen. With beautiful animation, charming characters and a new and exciting plot, it is a triumph as an end to Hayao Miyazaki's career. I really do hope he is bluffing and will pop back at any moment to make another film, though.