Review – The Wind Rises

Beware Japanese directors as they prepare to retire. Jeez, talk about sentimental filmmaking! For his farewell production, Hayao Miyazaki tells the fictionalized tale of Jiro Horikoshi, the lead designer of the Zero fighter planes used extensively in the Second World War. If you love movies such as My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away, be warned that this production includes almost none of the whimsical fantasy elements that lend charm to a typical Miyazaki outing. But the animation is up to par, and the script is interesting and depressing in equal measure. Mildly amusing