New Miyazaki / Ghibli: "The Wind Rises" trailer

[dag]

I saw The Wind Rises on Wednesday night, and thoroughly enjoyed it. As I tweeted immediately upon exiting the theatre, it is a beautiful and evocative film, directed by a mature artist at the height of his genius.

There are some stunning images in the film. While there were some themes in the movie that Miyazaki frequently highlights (anti-militarism, the inherent beauty of nature), I thought it had a different feel. Except for several dream/reverie sequences, there are no fantastical elements present. While there are clearly some political undertones, these minor plot threads aren't directly tackled, and I did think this should have been further developed. The characters were very real. The film is very grounded in the real world, and very violent events (natural and man-made) occur. I found The Wind Rises to be a very thoughtful, patiently told story. Very rewarding.