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HOME > QUIPSOGRAPHY > THE WIND RISES (2014) > PAGE 2 Chalk it up to my own regionally insular ignorance, but I spent the better part of this screening wondering what was happening and if I should care how certain events mattered to the plotline's larger context. For instance, Jiro meets his eventual love Nahoko Satomi on a train affected by a devastating earthquake early on, but unless you walk into the theatre already armed with knowledge of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 - reportedly one of the deadliest in Japan's history - that entire portion of the story plays out as a weirdly contrived, puzzling distraction. Regardless of whether or not it mirrors biographical reality leading up to Jiro's Zeroes notoriously bombing Pearl Harbor - an historical fact never cited here. Even when the sweet romance between Jiro and Nahoko takes centre stage during the last third of this picture, none of what's presented is enough to sustain much interest. The over-all story remains consistently plodding in its gently dabbling, stylistic endearment of Horikoshi's life. It truly feels as though any lasting satisfaction for movie goers is far too heavily reliant on either a pre-screening primer of the subject matter or near-fanatical adoration for anything Miyazaki creates. It's a shame. The fact The Wind Rises has received such critical acclaim here in North America makes me wonder what other animated features it was up against. Vine video clips of Scooby-Doo? Visually interesting yet woefully shallow, this big screen animated biopic simply isn't compelling enough as presented. It's neither a total stinker nor a cinematic snoozefest, but The Wind Rises isn't really worth the price of admission unless you're a fan of Japanese aviation history or a diehard Miyazaki anime completist. Reviewed 03/14, © Stephen Bourne, moviequips.ca The Wind Rises is rated PG by
the Ontario Film Review Board, citing occasional use of words
such as darn, damn, hell, scenes that may cause a child brief
anxiety, or fear, bullying, embracing and kissing, tobacco use,
and restrained portrayals of non-graphic violence, and is rated
G by la Régie du Cinéma in Québec. REFERENCE: |
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