The Wind Rises (2013)

The critic marvels at Miyazaki's masterful visual storytelling and idiosyncratic take on the romance of flight and personal dreams in what may be his final film, singling out the stunning earthquake sequence and the emotional depth of the characters' pursuits.

The Wind Rises establishes itself as a bold, startling endpoint to Miyazaki's career, a mature work of bittersweet realism that incorporates ethical contradictions into a mournful worldview without denying them. It singles out the film's precise animation and focus on movement in nature as suffused with immense detail and feeling, even as it presents a resigned distress at the weight of political systems.

The critic describes it as a wise, wistful summation of Miyazaki's career that revisits core themes with elegance, standing as a loving testimony to a career well-spent and a fitting farewell.

The critic lauds the hauntingly beautiful historical epic for its sober portrait of pre-WWII Japan and masterful blend of visual fancy with social insight, highlighting the earthquake sequence and the personal connection to the director's themes of dreams and technology.

The critic calls it Miyazaki's most nakedly personal film and a stunningly wrought farewell from an imaginative master, praising its visual craftsmanship and sly charm despite being less fantastical than his other works.

The critic views the film as a delicate, rueful, and achingly sad meditation on the power and moral risks of dreams, centering on the life of aircraft designer Jiro Horikoshi. It singles out the finely etched details of Jiro's storybook romance for praise.

The review calls it a brilliant swansong and complex, swooning melodrama on aviation and the caveats of creativity, unlike any prior Ghibli film. It singles out its earnest, adult-oriented melodrama, lack of contrivance, and morbid curiosity in juxtaposing mechanical dreams with human disintegration.

The critic praises the film's breathtaking images and personal resonance as Miyazaki's likely final work, while noting its mild anti-war stance and the beauty of its portrayal of dreams turning into reality; single out the Great Kanto Earthquake sequence and the poetic wind motifs for praise.

The film is a tribute to aeronautical engineer Jiro Horikoshi with wonderful gentleness and intelligent idealism. It is visually exquisite and emotionally charged, though arguably naive in its treatment of the subject.

It describes the film as both a fitting and uneasy swansong, a loose biopic that validates the director’s independent path while skating over wartime politics. The critic praises its glorious, exquisitely detailed animation as the most ravishing yet from Studio Ghibli and calls it a dark, disturbing, deeply moving full stop to a glittering career.

The review highlights the 2D cine-painting joy and ravishment expected from Miyazaki but notes that the precise historical setting and partial exclusion of fantasy causes some loss of imaginative force. It admires the animation and visual skill while suggesting the mechanical focus and leisurely plot may bore younger viewers.

The critic views the film as Miyazaki’s most personal and atypical work, a portrait of the artist as a myopic dreamer that abstracts its historical subject into a paean to flight and creativity. It praises the animation and autobiographical resonance while noting some narrative drag in the work scenes and the film’s ambiguous stance on historical responsibility.

The review notes it is markedly more realistic than Miyazaki’s usual fantastical films and may not suit newcomers, but praises the high-quality hand-drawn art and personal elements of what the director declared his final film. It finds older viewers and fans will be enchanted by this modest entry in the canon.

The film is an ambitious special case that will divide audiences, with some finding it an unforgettably beautiful and poetic ode to life while others may find the slow-moving second act wearing. It honestly handles the daring subject of engineering war planes and features amazingly detailed visuals that immerse viewers in the protagonist's dream world.

The critic finds the hand-drawn animation full of life but faults the inert story and lack of dramatic tension in this saccharine biography, calling the romance creepy and the politics clumsily handled.

The critic praises Miyazaki's poetic and optimistic handling of heavy themes like war, aviation dreams, and personal loss. The film is singled out for its blend of factual biography with dreamlike sequences and a tender love story.

The critic calls it a fascinating and beguiling departure, a grounded biopic elevated by animation's visual poetry. It singles out the personal parallels to Miyazaki's own artistry and the delicate love story.

The critic calls the film a gorgeous, haunting biopic that shows Miyazaki going out on top if it is indeed his last. They single out its rare celebration of the imagination and groundbreaking work of engineers, alongside the director's signature beauty and hopefulness.

The critic calls the film a beautifully animated swansong that blends intimate drama with grand themes, praising its sound design, character work, and poetic eye for relationships and flight. It notes the focus on the beauty of design over the planes' destructive use.

The critic views the film as a mature, melancholic swan song that explores the pursuit of dreams amid harsh realities. It singles out the engineer's personal drive and the contrast between naive optimism and the weight of history.

The critic finds it the weakest Miyazaki film, restrained and lifeless without fantasy elements, with only dream sequences providing spark. Praises the attempt at something new but criticizes the lack of emotional impact in the realistic story.