Review of The Wind Rises

Overall, I enjoyed this film. I think the plot was well-structured and moved at a quick and engaging pace. The animations were skillfully created and provided beautiful and thought-provoking moving images. However, it is necessary to mention the how politics played a role in the film and the lack of character development of Jiro, the main character. The film avoided any mention of Japan’s role in World War II and the horrible war crimes that were committed. I think this avoidance obstructed the plot somewhat and made the overall film less realistic and enjoyable. Additionally, Jiro was a very static character, which is not veryappealing considering the entire film followed him through his childhood and career. Throughout the film, Jiro repeated, “I just want to create beautiful airplanes,” and that is all he really did. The was no dynamism or personal growth for his character. Everything he did was focused on making a single airplane, so his focus became boring and almost annoying eventually while watching. Overall, I think The Wind Rise is an entertaining film, but becomes less enjoyable as you gain context on Japan’s and specifically the Mitsubishi Zero’s roles in World War II. The political choices taken on by the director in this film definitely decreased its overall quality.