| The Wind Rises | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Japanese | 風立ちぬ | ||||
| Literal meaning | The Wind Has Risen | ||||
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| Directed by | Hayao Miyazaki | ||||
| Screenplay by | Hayao Miyazaki | ||||
| Based on | 風立ちぬ (The Wind Has Risen) by Hayao Miyazaki | ||||
| Produced by | Toshio Suzuki | ||||
| Starring | |||||
| Cinematography | Atsushi Okui | ||||
| Edited by | Takeshi Seyama | ||||
| Music by | Joe Hisaishi | ||||
Production company | |||||
| Distributed by | Toho | ||||
Release date |
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Running time | 126 minutes[1] | ||||
| Country | Japan | ||||
| Language | Japanese | ||||
| Budget | US$30 million[2] | ||||
| Box office | US$136.5 million[3][4] | ||||
The Wind Rises (Japanese:風立ちぬ,Hepburn:Kaze Tachinu;lit. 'The Wind Has Risen') is a 2013 Japaneseanimatedhistorical drama film written and directed byHayao Miyazaki based on his 2009 manga of the same name. Produced byStudio Ghibli and distributed byToho, the film stars the voices ofHideaki Anno,Miori Takimoto,Hidetoshi Nishijima,Masahiko Nishimura,Morio Kazama,Keiko Takeshita,Mirai Shida,Jun Kunimura,Shinobu Otake, andNomura Mansai.
The film portrays a fictionalised account of the life of Japanese aeronautical engineerJiro Horikoshi, in particular his engineering career from his time at theUniversity of Tokyo in 1923 to the first test flight of theMitsubishi Ka-14 on 4 February 1935.[5] Juxtaposed with the historical events is a fictional romance of Horikoshi's, inspired by the similarly named semi-autobiographical novelThe Wind Has Risen byTatsuo Hori. The film was originally intended to be Miyazaki's final feature film,[6][7] before Miyazaki reversed his decision and eventually directedThe Boy and the Heron.[8][9]
Released on 20 July 2013 in Japan,The Wind Rises was the highest-grossing Japanese film of 2013. Though it caused some political controversy and criticism in Asia, it was met with critical acclaim. The film was nominated for several awards, including theAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature, theGolden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and theJapan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year, winning the latter.
In 1918, a youngJiro Horikoshi longs to become a pilot, but his nearsightedness prevents it. Inspired by a magazine, he begins having recurring dreams of flying with his idol, Italian aircraft designerGiovanni Battista Caproni, aboard Caproni's aircraft. Caproni tells him that he has never flown a plane in his life, and that building planes is better than flying them. Five years later, following the failure of theCaproni Ca.60, Jiro is an aeronautical engineering student atTokyo Imperial University. While travelling home from a visit with family, he meets a young girl, Nahoko Satomi, travelling with her maid Kinu. TheGreat Kantō earthquake suddenly hits, and Kinu's leg is broken. Jiro helps Nahoko carry her to Nahoko's family home, leaving without exchanging names.
In 1925, Jiro graduates with his friendKiro Honjo, and both are employed at aeroplane manufacturerMitsubishi amidst theGreat Depression. They are assigned to perfect a fighter plane, theMitsubishi 1MF9, for theImperial Army. During a test, it breaks apart in midair and is rejected. Pivoting their plans, Mitsubishi sends Jiro and Honjo to theWeimar Republic in 1929 to obtain a production licence for aJunkers G.38, intending to build a bomber. AlthoughHugo Junkers welcomes them, the two men are blocked from obtaining complete plans by theSicherheitspolizei. With them and their coworkers discouraged by how far back Japan's aeronautics technology is from the rest of the world, Jiro returns to Japan, while Honjo stays and eventually develops theMitsubishi G4M.
In early 1932, Jiro is promoted to chief designer for a fighter plane competition sponsored by theImperial Navy, but his design, theMitsubishi 1MF10, fails testing in 1933 and is rejected. Disappointed, he takes a vacation at a summer resort inKaruizawa. There he reunites with an adult Nahoko, who has been searching for him since they first met. The two quickly develop a romance, assisted by a German tourist named Castorp. Critical ofNazi Germany, Castorp privately tells Jiro thatAdolf Hitler has apprehended Junkers for resistingNazism, and that Germany must be stopped from declaring another world war, this time allied with Japan. He then flees arrest from theSpecial Higher Police.
Later, Nahoko is diagnosed withtuberculosis, so Jiro asks Nahoko's father for his blessing to marry her, and the two are engaged. However, Nahoko wishes to wait until she recovers to marry, and moves back in with her family. Wanted in connection with Castorp, Jiro hides at his supervisor Kurokawa's home while he works on a new fighter project for the Imperial Navy. Jiro briefly leaves when Nahoko suffers from apulmonary haemorrhage. After Jiro briefly tends to her, Nahoko decides to check into a mountainsanatorium to recover, but cannot bear being apart from Jiro and returns to be with him. Kurokawa and his wife marry the two and allow the couple to stay in their home with Nahoko's father's permission. Jiro's sister Kayo, a doctor, warns Jiro that his marriage to Nahoko will end tragically as tuberculosis is incurable. Though Nahoko's health deteriorates, she and Jiro enjoy their fleeting time together.
Jiro leaves for the test flight of his new prototype aeroplane, theMitsubishi Ka-14. Knowing that she will die soon, Nahoko leaves farewell letters for Jiro, her family, and friends and discreetly leaves the house in a vain attempt to return to the sanatorium. At the test site, Jiro is distracted from his success by a gust of wind, suggesting Nahoko's passing.
In 1945, after Japan haslostWorld War II, Jiro dreams of Caproni again, regretting that his plane was used for war. Caproni comforts him, saying that Jiro's dream of building beautiful aeroplanes was nonetheless realised, in the form of his masterpiece—theA6M 'Zero' fighter. Nahoko's spirit also appears, encouraging her husband to live on. After her spirit departs, Jiro and Caproni walk together into their shared kingdom of dreams.
| Character | Japanese | English[10] |
|---|---|---|
| Jiro Horikoshi (堀越 二郎,Horikoshi Jirō) | Hideaki Anno[11] Kaichi KaburagiY | Joseph Gordon-Levitt[12] Zach CallisonY |
| Nahoko Satomi (里見 菜穂子,Satomi Nahoko) | Miori Takimoto Mayu IinoY | Emily Blunt Madeleine Rose YenY |
| Kiro Honjo (本庄 季郎,Honjō Kirō) | Hidetoshi Nishijima | John Krasinski |
| Kurokawa (黒川) | Masahiko Nishimura | Martin Short |
| Castorp (カストルプ,Kasutorupu) | Stephen Alpert | Werner Herzog |
| Satomi (里見) | Morio Kazama | William H. Macy |
| Jiro's mother (二郎の母,Jirō no haha) | Keiko Takeshita | Edie Mirman |
| Kayo Horikoshi (堀越 加代,Horikoshi Kayo) | Mirai Shida Maki ShintaY | Mae Whitman Eva BellaY |
| Hattori (服部) | Jun Kunimura | Mandy Patinkin |
| Mrs. Kurokawa (黒川夫人,Kurokawa fujin) | Shinobu Otake | Jennifer Grey |
| Giovanni Battista Caproni (カプローニ,Kapurōni) | Nomura Mansai | Stanley Tucci |
| Kinu (絹) | Haruka Shibuya | Mae Whitman |
| Sone (曽根) | Elijah Wood | |
| Mitsubishi employee (三菱の従業員,Mitsubishi no jūgyōin) | Ronan Farrow | |
| Katayama (片山) | Darren Criss | |
| Flight Engineer | David Cowgill |
The film's title comes from the poetic line:
"Le vent se lève!... Il faut tenter de vivre! ("The wind rises!... We must try to live!")" ' —Paul Valéry,"Le Cimetière Marin" (The Graveyard by the Sea).[13][14]
The Wind Rises was directed byHayao Miyazaki,[15] his first feature film sincePonyo in 2008.[16]
Miyazaki began to conceive a story to illustrate the life of Jiro Horikoshi in 2008.[17] He published the story as a manga series in theModel Graphix magazine's April 2009 to January 2010 issues as a continuation of hisDelusional Notes series, and it was collected into one volume in October 2015.[18] The title is anallusion toPaul Valéry's 1920 poem "Le Cimetière Marin" (The Graveyard by the Sea).[19] The film also referencesTatsuo Hori's 1937 semi-autobiographical novelThe Wind Has Risen (風立ちぬ?),[20] and uses visuals to depict Hori's words.[17] The manga portrayed certain characters asanthropomorphised pigs, employing a design reminiscent of that seen in Miyazaki's filmPorco Rosso (1992).[21]
The story in the manga follows the historical account of Horikoshi's aircraft development up to 1935 (the year of the Mitsubishi A5M's maiden flight),[22] and intertwines with fictional encounters with Caproni and Nahoko Satomi (里見 菜穂子?).[23] The scenes with Nahoko in the manga included elements from the novelThe Wind Has Risen,[17] in which Tatsuo Hori wrote about his life experience with his fiancée, Ayako Yano (矢野 綾子?), before she died from tuberculosis. The nameNahoko Satomi was created from the female protagonist of another novel by Tatsuo Hori,Nahoko (菜穂子?).[24]
Characters frequently discussThomas Mann's novelThe Magic Mountain, and, in a letter to Nahoko, Jiro names his fleeing German friend "Mr. Castorp" after its protagonist.[25][26] The character himself is a caricature of Stephen Alpert, who was once the executive director of Ghibli's international division. He left the company in 2011 for personal reasons, but was instrumental in Ghibli's overseas expansion. He was asked to return to Japan to model for the character's appearance and a suitable voice.[27]
After the release ofPonyo, Miyazaki wanted his next film to be a sequel to the film, but producerToshio Suzuki proposed to adapt the mangaThe Wind Has Risen instead. At first, Miyazaki rejected the proposal because he created the manga as a hobby and considered its subjects not suitable for children, the traditional audience of Studio Ghibli's features. However, he changed his mind when a staff member suggested that "children should be allowed to be exposed to subjects they are not familiar with".[28] He was also inspired to make the film after reading a quote from Horikoshi: "All I wanted to do was to make something beautiful".[29]
The 32-trackfilm score was composed and conducted byJoe Hisaishi, and performed by theYomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. The film also includes singer-songwriterYumi Matsutoya's 1973 song "Hikō-ki Gumo" (ひこうき雲). Matsutoya had collaborated with Studio Ghibli onKiki's Delivery Service, which features her songsRouge no Dengon (ルージュの伝言) andYasashisa ni Tsutsumaretanara (やさしさに包まれたなら). Producer Suzuki recommended "Hikō-ki Gumo" to Miyazaki in December 2012, feeling the lyrics resembled the story ofThe Wind Rises.[30] "Das gibt's nur einmal" (English:It only happens once) is the German song Hans Castorp sings while playing the piano at Hotel Kusakaru in the film.[19]
The film's soundtrack was released in Japan on 17 July 2013 byTokuma Japan Communications.[31]
The Wind Rises was to have been released simultaneously withThe Tale of the Princess Kaguya, another Ghibli film byIsao Takahata, in Japan in mid-2013.[16] It would have been the first time the two directors' works were released together since the release ofMy Neighbor Totoro andGrave of the Fireflies in 1988.[16] However,Princess Kaguya was delayed until 23 November 2013,[32] andThe Wind Rises was released on 20 July 2013.[29]
The film played in competition at the70th Venice International Film Festival.[33][34] It had its official North American premiere at the 2013Toronto International Film Festival,[35] although a sneak preview was presented earlier at the 2013Telluride Film Festival, outside of the official program.[36]
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributed the film in North America through itsTouchstone Pictures banner.[37][38] English dubbing was directed byGary Rydstrom.[39] Disney held a one-week release window in theLos Angeles theatrical circuit beginning on 8 November 2013, so that it could qualify forAcademy Awards consideration.[citation needed] It was released theatrically on 21 February 2014 inselect cities, withwide release on 28 February.[40] It was released in the United Kingdom on 9 May 2014 byStudioCanal.[41]
Walt Disney Studios Japan released the movie onBlu-ray Disc andDVD in Japan on 18 June 2014.[42] The Japanese DVD release sold 128,784 units until7 December 2014[43] and a further 6,735 units between 8 December 2014 and 7 June 2015,[44] for a combined 141,245 DVD units as of 7 June 2015[update].
In the United States,Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film onBlu-ray Disc andDVD on 18 November 2014. The release includes supplement features with storyboards, the original Japanese trailers and TV spots, a "Behind the Microphone" featurette with members of the English voice cast, and a video from when the film was announced to be completed. The audio for both English and Japanese language is monophonic (DTS-HD MA 1.0).[45] Even though the North American rights Disney owned on Studio Ghibli films expired in 2017, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment continued to distributeThe Wind Rises until 2020, when GKIDS re-released it on DVD and Blu-ray on 22 September 2020 with distribution throughShout! Factory.[46] The re-release took longer than with other Studio Ghibli titles as it was still a fairly new film, and Disney still held the US rights.[citation needed]
The film has grossed over$9 million from physical DVD and Blu-ray sales in the US.[47] In the United Kingdom, it was 2015's fifth-best-selling foreign-language film onhome video, and third best-sellingAsian film (belowThe Raid 2 andThe Tale of the Princess Kaguya).[48]
The film grossed¥11.6 billion (US$113 million)[49] at the Japanese box office, the highest-grossing film in Japan in 2013.[50]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 88% of 182 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Wind Rises is a fittingly bittersweet swan song for director Hayao Miyazaki."[51]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 83 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[52]
Critic David Ehrlich rated the film 9.7/10 and called it "perhaps the greatest animated film ever made". He wrote: "While initially jarring, Miyazaki's unapologetic deviations from fact helpThe Wind Rises to transcend the linearity of its expected structure, the film eventually revealing itself to be less of a biopic than it is a devastatingly honest lament for the corruption of beauty, and how invariably pathetic the human response to that loss must be. Miyazaki's films are often preoccupied with absence, the value of things left behind and how the ghosts of beautiful things are traced onto our memories like the shadows of objects outlined by a nuclear flash.The Wind Rises looks back as only a culminating work can."[53]Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian called the film "visually exquisite and emotionally charged".[54] Film criticMark Kermode called it "a rich treat for the eye and soul alike".[55]
Scott Foundas ofVariety wrote "The score by frequent Miyazaki collaborator Joe Hisaishi recalls Nino Rota in its lilting accordion-and-mandolin main theme."[56]Dana Stevens ofSlate called it as a "romantic orchestral score".[57] Alonso Duralde ofTheWrap wrote "Joe Hisaishi contributes another in his series of legendary scores for the director."[58]
The Japan Times gave the film three and a half out of five, and stated: "A visually sumptuous celebration of an unspoiled prewar Japan."[59] In a review forThe Asia-Pacific Journal, Matthew Penney wrote: "What Miyazaki offers is a layered look at how Horikoshi's passion for flight was captured by capital and militarism", and that it was "one of Miyazaki's most ambitious and thought-provoking visions as well as one of his most beautifully realized visual projects".[60]
In 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition ofThe New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 235.[61]
In Japan,The Wind Rises received criticism from both the Japanese political right[29] and from the Japan Society for Tobacco Control.[62] Miyazaki added to the controversy by publishing an essay in which he criticised the proposal by Japan's right-wingLiberal Democratic Party to changeArticle 9 of theJapanese Constitution to allow Japan to remilitarise.[29][62][63]
Miyazaki also attracted political criticism from South Korean internet users, who argued that the Zero represents Japanese military aggression and that many planes were assembled by Koreanforced labour.[62] Miyazaki told South Korean journalists that "[Horikoshi] was someone who resisted demands from the military...I wonder if he should be liable for anything just because he lived in that period."[62] In an interview with theAsahi Shimbun, Miyazaki said he had "very complex feelings" about World War II since, as apacifist, he felt militarist Japan had acted out of "foolish arrogance". However, he also said that theZero plane "represented one of the few things we Japanese could be proud of—[they] were a truly formidable presence, and so were the pilots who flew them".[62]
The Wind Rises received 13 nominations and 17 awards for "Best Animated Feature", including one Academy Award nomination.[64] Hayao Miyazaki won the award for Writing in an Animated Feature Production at the41st Annie Awards.[65] The film's musical composer,Joe Hisaishi, received theJapan Academy Prize for Best Music Score.[66] The film was also selected as "Audience Favorite – Animation" at theMill Valley Film Festival.[67]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | 2 March 2014 | Best Animated Feature | Hayao Miyazaki andToshio Suzuki | Nominated | [68] |
| Annie Awards | 1 February 2014 | Best Animated Feature | The Wind Rises | Nominated | [69] |
| Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Feature Production | Kitarō Kōsaka | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Achievement for Writing in a Feature Production | Hayao Miyazaki | Won | |||
| Golden Globe Awards | 12 January 2014 | Best Foreign Language Film | The Wind Rises | Nominated | [70] |
| Japan Academy Film Prize | 7 March 2014 | Animation of the Year | The Wind Rises | Won | [71] |
| Outstanding Achievement in Music | Joe Hisaishi | Won | |||
| Mill Valley Film Festival | 13 October 2013 | Audience Favorite – Animation | The Wind Rises | Won | [72] |
| Venice Film Festival | 7 September 2013 | Golden Lion | The Wind Rises | Nominated | [73] |
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