Bittersweet semi-autobiographical swansong for Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away etc.) Somewhat controversial topic looking at the life of Jiro Horikoshi, who designed fighter planes, but in no way does the film glorify war or justify Japan’s actions. If anything, it celebrates creativity, dreams and the design process, and one can’t help but sense that Miyazaki is reminiscing the days of his youth (just as in the more sugary From Up On Poppy Hill (2011)) and mourning the passing of his own (more than) “ten years in the sun”. This year Frozen was the crowd pleasing, money spinning Academy Award winner, but The Wind Rises was the more deserving
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