The Wind Rises: Who Has Seen The Wind?

Hayao Miyazaki's 126-minute animated film is a marvel from beginning to end, but don't bring the little kiddies. This is adult entertainment, loosely based on real stories about the development of the Japanese air force between World Wars I and II.

The narrative traces the life of an aeronautics engineer from his childhood obsession with flying to the creation of an exquisite aircraft that flew faster than he'd ever dreamed. He envisioned his plane carrying passengers from one continent to another, but increasingly realized his creation would transport bombs instead.

That's what some find problematic about this movie. Although Jiro addresses his concerns about how his creation will be used, maybe because of the limits of animated characters, this never seems to be a huge concern. And indeed his amazing flying machine was the prototype of the Zero Fighter Aircraft that bombed Pearl Harbor.