Jiro is mainly the central focus of the film. Jiro, to many, can consider to have a standard personality. He's easygoing, kind, and determined, the usual traits you see in a protagonist. But there is truly more to him than what meets the eye. At times he can be interesting to watch. At times, he can be charming, he can show an intriguing emotion, he can go through inner battles. He is just the type of guy you want to hear a life story about and thank God, we get to see it. The highlights is the many characters he comes into contact with and interacts with such as his sister, his friend, his boss, a German man that he meets, with Giovanni, even though that is mainly in his imagination, and with his love interest Naoko Satomi (voiced by Emily Blunt). Now Naoko is the only other supporting character that almost has a much of a huge role as Jiro. She may come across as the typical and loving love interest, but like Jiro there is definitely more to her. It is because she is loving and kind that allows the audience to really love her and cares about what is going to happen to her. Also when the Jiro and Naoko are together, you can genuinely feel that they are in love and they make a believable couple. They have such great romance and chemistry, that maybe even helps this film become one of my favorite romantic movies. Whether it would be in the voice performance or the writing, there is definitely depth to Naoko.
Like the rest of Miyazaki's works and Studio Ghibli films, the animation is jaw droppingly beautiful. What can be said about Studio Ghibli animation that has not been said before? It is astonishingly amazing to look at, the colors are vibrant, the character designs are smooth and wonderful, it blends the right amount of reality and animation. The textures are smooth that it feels like you can reach out and touch the characters and objects. There is a reason why Studio Ghibli is considered to be one of the all time bests animation studios in the world, and this film pure proof of that!
The story is basically telling the life of this plane designer. And let me tell you folks, it is a lot more interesting and refreshing than it sounds. Not only do we see why Jiro wants to accomplish his dream and the steps and obstacles he must go through, but we also get to see other aspects of his life. This includes who are his family, who are his friends, who are his colleagues, who is the love of his life, etc. And all these elements are gone into full depth and each character Jiro comes across is extremely developed and likable. The film tends to just focus on the life of this guy, and you know what that is very refreshing for this day and age. Sometimes seeing somebody's life and accomplishing their dreams is interesting. That way we can compare how similar and/or different our lives are from the character. The film did not need a greedy corporate villain or a snoody rival which may expect from a film like this. There is even one character in the film that I thought was totally going to ruin it for me, because he could easily fit as Jiro's rival or something, but no he is actually one of Jiro's best friends and he is highly likable. Films like these only come rarely and to finally see once grace upon the silver screen is truly magnificent. The film also has a powerful message about not giving up your dreams. Sounds standard and cliche, but the way it presents itself sounds new. Sometimes when we reach our goals, chances are it will not become the dream we hoped for and probably instead benefited from somebody else's gain. But it does not mean we should not give up on finally realizing our visions and dreams. The Wind Rises is overall a beautiful film about life, dreams, imagination, and love and each of the aspects blend in wonderfully. The rest of 2014 is going to have to try really hard to top this one, because honestly this film is treasured gold!
GRADE: AE
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