Review of The Wind Rises

The best way I can describe this film is eerily light. There's a degree of distance that the film takes from its subject matter, to the point that it's almost difficult to see this film and its setting for what it is: an engineer designing planes that would later be used as bombers, fighters, and, most notoriously, Kamikaze aircraft in World War II. It's not that the film doesn't acknowledge it - far from it, as the film never really lets you forget what's on the horizon and how these planes are going to be used - but rather that the film exhibits a senseof distance from that subject matter.

Maybe that can be chalked up to the lead whose role in all this is to play the talented engineer trying to design a better plane, vanishing into literal flights of fancy in his dreams. That almost seems like an escape, but Jirou fully acknowledges what he's doing, never shying away from the knowledge of what's going to happen with his designs, though also feeling detached and unemotional about it. And I guess that's one part of the movie I just don't jive with. I think a well-told story in this vein is one that really showcases the lead struggling on some level with what they're doing, and much as Jirou shows an air of sadness about it, he doesn't appear to show regret or remorse for it at all. That could be a coping mechanism, but it feels just a tad underwhelming.

Much of the rest of the film is just great. The transitions between how he perceives planes and engineering and how the world around him does are quite striking, particularly when we contrast him with other engineers. The animation is gorgeous and detailed. The relationships in this are sweet, albeit they feel a bit rushed, particularly in terms of Jirou's relationship with Naoko. The ways everyone else rallies around their relationship are very touching. Castorp is an interesting character who just doesn't get enough screen time to be as meaningful as he could have been, unfortunately. By contrast, I think Caproni is consistently interesting every time he appears in Jirou's dreams, representing his curiosity and drive while also presenting him with the hard truths of what his creations will mean to the world around them.

So while the film is eerie in its way, it never loses sight of its humanity. I wish it had spent its time a little differently, but I was happy to ride on the wind.