I am afraid this movie cannot be considered good. It is slow from the beginning to the end... At minute three I started to question myself... "Why is this scene lasting 20 seconds ? 21, 22...". I went to the theater without the knowledge of the synopsis... and I must say, it is the worst way of discovering the film. One must be warned before he watches the movie... that "the wind rises" has nothing to do with any other Miyazaki's productions.
-- SPOILER -- I have read critiques praising Miyazaki for this "fantastic, intense, poetic film"... In my opinion, any beginner could have made a better storyline... and the drama is just so common. It is dull, monotonous, slow. Half of the movie was 100% disappointing and boring, or cliché ("I have loved you from the moment I saw you" etc). A slight interest caught me in the middle of the movie, when Jiro must struggle for his work and for his wife. Sadly, it is only a fictional part, nothing close to reality... so, well, could have been anything else.
Besides, some moral values promoted by the film are disputable... Jiro lets his wife breathe his smoking because she doesn't want to leave him any second... He prefers that she stays living with him rather than having a chance of getting cured in the mountains. And so on. I think this is very childish. Nourishing such ideals is idiotic. There is nothing to be praised in the decisions of this couple. The film only presents a way of thinking at a given period of time, and takes no step back. Miyazaki casts a childish eye upon this couple when he should have been able to emphasize the flaws of this reasoning. Jiro could have made more compromises to take care of his wife... etc. "But working is important for a man" says Naoko's father. And... no rebellion, no step back, ... we're deep in some Japanese conceptions of life... and it bothers me deeply. In the same category, Naoko leaving the house not to be seen dead is another weird ideal. Such ideals are WRONG, for very known reasons : any man has a need for mourning when a person dies, and mourning is easier when the dead person can be seen, touched, buried... So basically, Miyazaki here is praising the ability to mourn without seeing the body. Jiro even says "thank you" to Naoko who asks him to go on living. I'm so shocked by all these idiotic ideals actually !
Anyway, all in all... their decisions could have made sense. Yes it makes sense when someone is suffering; and you know this person will die eventually; to please her in every way, even if it doesn't benefit her health... It is somehow the "best" thing to do when someone is about to die. But the problem is, they stopped fighting far too soon !! How could they know she was so much about to die ?!
-- SPOILER --
Many elements of the film needed more depth or explanation or stepping back to make a good adult movie. But as for me, Miyazaki only casts a childish eye on matters way more complex.
"The wind rises" is the typical example of work that gets fantastic critiques ONLY because of the name of the producer. Say it was "The wind rises" made by Unknown 001, it would not have received any good critique. People would have just watched the film for what it is, as I did. But since it's Miyazaki, everyone tries hard to see *what's HIDDEN*, because since it's Miyazaki it must be great !! So let's say the animation is tremendous !! Erm, guys, the animation is absolutely standard. We could expect much more for the last film from Miyazaki...
It so seems I don't like any of the "personal" films from Miyazaki ("the wind rises" and "Porco Rosso" as it seems). I do not share the passion for aviation at all and it feels like a neurosis of Miyazaki.
To sum up, if you expect the usual Miyazaki fancy, do not watch this movie.
-- SPOILER -- I have read critiques praising Miyazaki for this "fantastic, intense, poetic film"... In my opinion, any beginner could have made a better storyline... and the drama is just so common. It is dull, monotonous, slow. Half of the movie was 100% disappointing and boring, or cliché ("I have loved you from the moment I saw you" etc). A slight interest caught me in the middle of the movie, when Jiro must struggle for his work and for his wife. Sadly, it is only a fictional part, nothing close to reality... so, well, could have been anything else.
Besides, some moral values promoted by the film are disputable... Jiro lets his wife breathe his smoking because she doesn't want to leave him any second... He prefers that she stays living with him rather than having a chance of getting cured in the mountains. And so on. I think this is very childish. Nourishing such ideals is idiotic. There is nothing to be praised in the decisions of this couple. The film only presents a way of thinking at a given period of time, and takes no step back. Miyazaki casts a childish eye upon this couple when he should have been able to emphasize the flaws of this reasoning. Jiro could have made more compromises to take care of his wife... etc. "But working is important for a man" says Naoko's father. And... no rebellion, no step back, ... we're deep in some Japanese conceptions of life... and it bothers me deeply. In the same category, Naoko leaving the house not to be seen dead is another weird ideal. Such ideals are WRONG, for very known reasons : any man has a need for mourning when a person dies, and mourning is easier when the dead person can be seen, touched, buried... So basically, Miyazaki here is praising the ability to mourn without seeing the body. Jiro even says "thank you" to Naoko who asks him to go on living. I'm so shocked by all these idiotic ideals actually !
Anyway, all in all... their decisions could have made sense. Yes it makes sense when someone is suffering; and you know this person will die eventually; to please her in every way, even if it doesn't benefit her health... It is somehow the "best" thing to do when someone is about to die. But the problem is, they stopped fighting far too soon !! How could they know she was so much about to die ?!
-- SPOILER --
Many elements of the film needed more depth or explanation or stepping back to make a good adult movie. But as for me, Miyazaki only casts a childish eye on matters way more complex.
"The wind rises" is the typical example of work that gets fantastic critiques ONLY because of the name of the producer. Say it was "The wind rises" made by Unknown 001, it would not have received any good critique. People would have just watched the film for what it is, as I did. But since it's Miyazaki, everyone tries hard to see *what's HIDDEN*, because since it's Miyazaki it must be great !! So let's say the animation is tremendous !! Erm, guys, the animation is absolutely standard. We could expect much more for the last film from Miyazaki...
It so seems I don't like any of the "personal" films from Miyazaki ("the wind rises" and "Porco Rosso" as it seems). I do not share the passion for aviation at all and it feels like a neurosis of Miyazaki.
To sum up, if you expect the usual Miyazaki fancy, do not watch this movie.