The Wind Rises.

No, not that kind of wind!

The latest epic, 風立ちぬ (Kaze tachinu = The Wind Rises) by Hayao Miyazaki of Ghibli fame is a lavish looking masterpiece and unfortunately it may also be his swan song.

There is one very scary scene (a collective gasp was expelled by the audience), several comedic moments and it is also very sad. If I understood a little bit more of the dialogue, I might have shed a tear or two. Visually magnificent, there's no need for 3D with Ghibli, the colours simply leap off the screen.

Unfortunately, it drags at moments and is not the most exciting of movies. I did manage to stay awake throughout though, so that's saying something. Since the setting is pre-WWII Japan, the dialogue is pretty tough to follow if you aren't a native speaker. Even my charming companion, Yvonne, struggled with some of the scenes. (Who was the German guy, anyway?) I wish I had read the Wiki entry beforehand, it might have been more comprehensible. Come to think of it, now that I have read the entry, I understood more of the movie than I thought!

Best part of the movie is the theme song during the end credits. ひこうき雲 (Hikoukigumo) was written by Yumi Matsutoya aka Yumi Arai and nicknamed Yuming.

Here is a video of herself bellowing out the tune back in the 70s:



And the version that goes with the trailer:



For some reason the dumb theatre had closed down the concession stand after the movie so I couldn't pick up any goods. They have a model of the plane, I'd like to buy. Sorry, we're closed, you'll have to spend your money elsewhere!

I'm looking forward to the fall release of Kaguya-hime no Monogatari (The Story of Princess Kaguya) by fellow Ghibli artist, Isao Takahata. It's based on a fairy tale and the trailer we saw looks pretty cool!

Another movie I plan to see is the sequel to Sadako starring my future wife and child!