Master animation craftsman Hayao Miyazaki can usually be found making lyrical, fantastical films such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. For his latest release, however, he’s dipping into history, which previously proved fruitful ground for the heartbreaking Grave Of The Fireflies. The result is The Wind Rises, which is already big at the Japanese box office and which will premiere across the pond at the Toronto International Film Festival. Now there's a subtitled (and reasonably spoiler-filled, it looks like) trailer.
The Wind Rises spins two true stories together: that of Jiro Horikoshi, visionary designer of one the most beautiful airplanes in history – the famed Zero fighter – and the poet Tatsuo Hori.
But simply because the film tackles real-life issues such as war, loss, suffering and romance, don’t go thinking it won’t be shot through with the typically beautiful Studio Ghibli style and entrancing animation. Though the trailer’s a little A-Z in terms of spelling out the story and what Miyazaki is covering this time, you almost don’t need the subtitles to appreciate it – the images do the job perfectly.
We don’t yet know when the film will arrive in UK cinemas, but the presence of a subtitled version and the Toronto premiere gives us hope we won’t have to wait too long.