6 Curiosities About Hayao Miyazaki’s Masterpiece

The film hasn’t aged a day.

Recently returned to the cinema The wind is getting stronger This is Hayao Miyazaki’s last film. At least, that was until a few months ago when Miyazaki returned to Japanese theaters with a new film. boy and heron (which will be released in Italy on January 1, 2024). However, this return to the scene does not change the essence of the matter, namely The wind is getting stronger it is a masterpiece, a film in which the famous Japanese director invested a lot of himself and his cinema. To properly celebrate this movie, we wanted to highlight 6 oddities that are sure to leave you speechless.

1. Based on two true stories

For the first time, Miyazaki draws on biographical reality to create his own film. This has never happened before. Even in The wind is getting stronger

there is not only a real story, but also two intertwined between them. The film’s protagonist, Jiro Horikoshi, primarily refers to the Japanese engineer of the same name who designed the fighter aircraft used by the Japanese Air Force during World War II. But apart from this, Miyazaki referred to the story of the writer Tatsuo Hori and a short novel in which he talks about his relationship with his wife, who has tuberculosis.

2. Human sounds in The wind is getting stronger

There are many sounds and noises in this film, in addition to the excellent soundtrack of Joe Hisaishi: from the engine of the plane to the impressive earthquake effect at the beginning of the film. Here you are, these sounds were made by a human voice not synthetically or in any other way. It’s strange, but it’s true. And even stranger and funnier is the fact that Miyazaki himself offered to make some of these sounds, but was refused.

3. Obsessions and dreams of Hayao Miyazaki

There is so much of Miyazaki in this film that it should have been (and probably still is) his spiritual testament. First, of course director’s passion for the sky and airplanes

(especially Italian ones), an element that constantly returns to his filmography and which is sublimated here in a wonderful and touching way.

4. Strong emotional impact

The wind is getting stronger it’s a touching movie with a huge emotional impact, a movie that’s really hard to ignore. It even seems that Hayao Miyazaki has been moved after the first screening of the film. How to blame him.

5. Double in the family

The English dub of the film boasts top notch voice and familiar in a way. Yes, because the main character Nahoko is voiced by Emily Blunt, and the two male characters Honjou and Caproni are voiced respectively. John Krasinski and Stanley Tucci, that is, the husband and son-in-law of Emily Blunt. Elsewhere, one could shout about nepotism, but given the level in this case, one can close one’s eyes.

6. The wind is getting stronger…

Maybe we don’t even need to specify it, but Miyazaki’s movie title comes from a poem by the poet Paul Valéry which is often repeated throughout the film: “The wind is getting stronger, we must try to live.” And, in fact, this verse is not only repeated throughout the film, but also summarizes its entire meaning, given the constant presence of the wind that moves, physically and otherwise, only the fates of various characters.

Read also Miyazaki Special Edition: The wind is getting stronger: review