Rises - The Wind

Pass the Popcorn: The Wind Rises * (Guest post by Greg Forster) I hadn't intended to time a review of Hayao Miyazaki's final film, jaypgreene.com

: Many critics view Jiro as a stand-in for Miyazaki himself—an artist so consumed by his craft that the world around him, even war and illness, becomes secondary to the pursuit of the "pure" image. The Wind Rises

At its core, the film examines the tragic irony of Jiro’s ambition. From childhood, he is enamored with the elegance of aviation, viewing aircraft as "beautiful dreams". However, his pursuit of this beauty occurs during Japan’s descent into militarism, meaning his creations are destined to become instruments of destruction. Pass the Popcorn: The Wind Rises * (Guest

: The film repeatedly asks if the pursuit of greatness justifies the ethical compromises along the way. Jiro’s mentor in dream sequences, Caproni, famously asks if he would prefer a world with or without pyramids—acknowledging that even the greatest wonders of human achievement often come at a terrible human cost. Technical Mastery and Maturity However, his pursuit of this beauty occurs during