Research - The Wind Rises

I saw The Wind Rises when it was first released in the UK. It is a film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and distributed by Studio Ghibli. This is also interestingly was also the last film that Miyazaki directed before his retirement in September 2013. The story used in the film, is a fictionalised interpretation of the life of Jiro Horikoshi, designer of the Mitsubishi A5M and it's successors, which was used by the Empire of Japan during World War II. The film is set in the year 1916 where we are first introduced to the character Jiro Horikoshi. Jiro dreams of becoming a pilot but his poor eyesight doesn't allow him to achieve this. During the initial period in the film, the main character, Jiro, dreams of meeting the Italian aircraft designer; Giovanni Battista Caproni. Caproni tells him that building planes is better than flying them. This opening to the film is a the typical uplifting and inspiring nature of Ghibli films, you feel the characters excitement and drive through the use of direction and animation style. The very attractive Ghibli style of animation intensifies the likability of characters and forces you as the audience to root for them as they pursue their goals and try and achieve their dreams as is the case again with this particular character. The reason I wanted to mention this film in particular over other Studio Ghibli films is that it is quite fresh in my mind and I remember being blown away by the exceptional story telling that was demonstrated in the film. It was also a great experience watching it in the cinema, and is the only Studio Ghibli film I have been fortunate enough to watch like this. The film itself feels incredibly similar to the style of the other films released by Studio Ghibli and contains the usual elements that together construct the epic tales often told in their work. The kind of notable similarities that you can see clearly in this film as the others is things like the interaction between characters and the very clean smooth animation style in combination with hard hitting plot direction. A trade mark of Studio Ghibli characters it that they are very ordinary people that end up leading quite exceptional lives, or atleast experience something rare and mesmerising during the onscreen action.

Another quality of Hayao Miyizaki's films I feel is the spontaneity and inventive direction the stories often take that keeps you so involved as a member of the audience. The animation is very subtle in places, and often there isn't a lot of on screen movement, perhaps this is one of the traits within their animating that gives it such a unique and recognisable feel. The backgrounds of scenes, however, are detailed and there will only be a few or sometimes even one moving object in the scene. You'd think this would take you out of the film but in actual fact it's the realistic backgrounds and their high level of detail that encourage the films to be so immersive. There is a huge emphasis on nature in Studio Ghibli films. Multiple scenes are filmed near or within forests. There are often streams in scenes, and act as a safe-haven for characters, giving them peace and reflection. As the audience it's the scenes where this relationship between characters and nature allows you to relate and connect with them in extreme ways. As well as this, it gives the audience to appreciate the stunning artwork included in the film, because you're not distracted by any particular action or detail. The sounds used are very real and manage to transport you into the fil itself.