By Gabriella Incalza Kaplanova.

If you are on the lookout for something truly spectacular to see on the big screen this month, let it be this one.

The Wind Rises is Studio Ghibli’s latest gem, as well as co-founder Hayao Miyazaki’s farewell film; a fictionalized biographical animated movie on Jiro Horikoshi, the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War II.

Jiro dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni. Nearsighted from a young age and unable to become a pilot, Jiro undertakes an engineering course and eventually joins a major Japanese engineering company in the late Twenties. An exceptionally talented young man who becomes one of the world’s most innovative and accomplished airplane designers.

A poetic and dramatic chronicle following the life and dreams of Jiro, as he struggles through life during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, The Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic, and as Japan plunges into war.

The Wind Rises is above all a tale of love, friendship, struggles and determination, a fine piece of work that will make you marvel at Hayao’s signature hand-drawn animation.

A must see for all Studio Ghibli’s fans, and a great movie to start discovering this animation studio and its 19 feature length films, one of Japan’s finest products.

The Wind Rises, in UK cinemas from Friday 9^th May.

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