The Wind Rises

Plot

In 1918, young Jiro Horikoshi dreams of becoming a pilot but is prevented by nearsightedness. He has recurring dreams of flying with Italian aircraft designer Giovanni Battista Caproni, who tells him building planes is better than flying them. In 1923, Jiro is an aeronautical engineering student at Tokyo Imperial University. During a trip home, he meets a young girl, Nahoko Satomi, and her maid Kinu; the Great Kantō earthquake strikes, breaking Kinu's leg, and Jiro helps them before leaving without exchanging names.

In 1925, Jiro graduates with friend Kiro Honjo and both work at Mitsubishi during the Great Depression. Their fighter plane design, the Mitsubishi 1MF9, breaks apart during testing and is rejected. In 1929, Mitsubishi sends Jiro and Honjo to the Weimar Republic to obtain a production licence for a Junkers G.38, but they are blocked from complete plans by the Sicherheitspolizei. Jiro returns to Japan; Honjo stays and develops the Mitsubishi G4M.

In 1932, Jiro becomes chief designer for a Navy fighter competition, but his Mitsubishi 1MF10 fails testing in 1933. Disappointed, he vacations in Karuizawa, reunites with an adult Nahoko, and they develop a romance. A German tourist called Castorp criticizes Nazi Germany and tells Jiro that Hitler has apprehended Junkers; Castorp then flees arrest from the Special Higher Police.

Production

Hayao Miyazaki directed The Wind Rises, his first feature since Ponyo in 2008. He began conceiving a story about Jiro Horikoshi in 2008 and published it as a manga series in Model Graphix magazine from April 2009 to January 2010, collected into one volume in October 2015. The title alludes to Paul Valéry's poem "Le Cimetière Marin"; the film also references Tatsuo Hori's novel The Wind Has Risen. The manga portrayed some characters as anthropomorphized pigs, reminiscent of Porco Rosso.

The story follows Horikoshi's aircraft development up to 1935 and intertwines fictional encounters with Caproni and Nahoko Satomi, whose name comes from another Hori novel. Characters discuss Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain; Jiro names his German friend "Mr. Castorp" after its protagonist. The character is a caricature of Stephen Alpert, former executive director of Ghibli's international division, who modeled for the character's appearance and voice.

Miyazaki initially rejected it as unsuitable for children, but changed his mind when a staff member suggested children should be exposed to unfamiliar subjects, and after reading Horikoshi's quote: "All I wanted to do was to make something beautiful."

Release

The Wind Rises was originally to be released simultaneously with Isao Takahata's The Tale of the Princess Kaguya in mid-2013, the first such joint release since My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies in 1988. Princess Kaguya was delayed to 23 November 2013, and The Wind Rises was released on 20 July 2013 in Japan. It played in competition at the 70th Venice International Film Festival and had its North American premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, with a sneak preview at the 2013 Telluride Film Festival.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributed it in North America through Touchstone Pictures, with English dubbing directed by Gary Rydstrom. A one-week Los Angeles release began 8 November 2013 for Academy Award qualification; theatrical release followed on 21 February 2014 in select cities, with wide release on 28 February. StudioCanal released it in the UK on 9 May 2014. Walt Disney Studios Japan released Blu-ray and DVD on 18 June 2014; the Japanese DVD sold 128,784 units by 7 December 2014. In the US, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Blu-ray and DVD on 18 November 2014. Factory.

Reception

The Wind Rises was the highest-grossing film in Japan in 2013. On Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 182 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.0/10; the consensus calls it "a fittingly bittersweet swan song for director Hayao Miyazaki." Metacritic assigned a score of 83 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim." David Ehrlich rated it 9.7/10, calling it "perhaps the greatest animated film ever made" and praising its deviation from fact as a lament for the corruption of beauty.

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it "visually exquisite and emotionally charged." Mark Kermode described it as "a rich treat for the eye and soul alike." Scott Foundas of Variety noted Joe Hisaishi's score recalls Nino Rota in its accordion-and-mandolin theme. Dana Stevens of Slate called it a "romantic orchestral score."

Alonso Duralde of TheWrap wrote that Hisaishi contributes another legendary score. The Japan Times gave it three and a half out of five, calling it "a visually sumptuous celebration of an unspoiled prewar Japan." Matthew Penney in The Asia-Pacific Journal described it as a layered look at how Horikoshi's passion was captured by capital and militarism. In 2025, The Wind Rises was voted number 235 on The New York Times "Readers' Choice" list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century."