Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises opens across the USA on Friday, February 28 - do you know where the movie is playing? Once again, Ghibli Blog is here to help direct you to the theaters in your area, for showtimes and tickets.
Follow theses links to MovieTickets and Fandango, enter your zip code, and the search engines will direct you to the nearest theaters showing The Wind Rises. I am not yet aware if Disney plans to expand the number of theaters in coming weeks; I would assume that will be determined by turnout. So if you want everyone to see Miyazaki's "final masterpiece," you need to turn out this weekend. Bring all your friends!
MovieTickets.com
Fandango
10 comments:
Pathetically no theater is that risky enough to play it where I am it seems (two theaters within the 40 mile range on that site shows a the dubbed version is playing in Southgate, MI while a subtitled version is in Ann Arbor).
I just saw it today at a matinee. Thankfully, The Wind Rises is playing in my city. (in one theatre)
No advertising mind you, and I had no idea it was playing here until a couple of days ago...
Anyway, watching a Miyazaki film on the big screen is an outstanding aesthetic experience. Although I had a minor problem with how the love story developed, I thought it was a fitting end for Miyazaki. There are some truly amazing visuals here. And I quite liked the central themes of the film, it was a morally complicated beauty.
I went to go see this with a friend, and total, there were only 10 people in the theatre. A part of me was happy, because I dislike crowds, but a part of me was so sad that Miyazaki's last (feature) film is so ignored by the North American public. I guess Disney is a little worried that people might be offended by this movie.
On that note, upon seeing The Wind Rises, the people who call this movie offensive are quite silly. Yes, there's a lot of smoking...so what? It's the 40s!
As for the people who consider this film morally irresponsible because it neglects to tell the audience about the atrocities that the Japanese government committed during WWII...all I have to say to those people is...watch the movie again, it's quite decidedly anti-war.
As for the far-right of Japan who have deemed Miyazaki a traitor....okay, I have nothing really to say to those people. I'm I could have a rational conversation with them...
Sadly, there seems to be little interest in this movie. Where are all these so-called Miyazaki fans? Perhaps we can forgive them for listening to such a toxic pre-release buzz. Everyone has been promised a dull, boring film about Japanese war planes that kill Americans, and a film completely different from Hayao Miyazaki's earlier work. This is absurd.
I also fail to understand the "controversy" over Japan's role in World War 2. Perhaps they watched the US dub version? I hope important dialog isn't lost in translation (I will find out for myself soon enoug).
The Wind Rises is unrelenting in its condemnation of war, German fascism, Japan's military police state, the idiocy of the military, and the seemingly endless warnings and prophesies of doom - Japan will destroy itself id it follows this path.
The result of Japanese aggression, their need to wage war for no useful reason, is used as a parallel to the Great Kanto Earthquake. In other words, senseless destruction and tragedy. I don't know what more Hayao Miyazaki has to say.
Perhaps Americans should speak a little more about THEIR runaway war machine before criticizing others.
The Wind Rises is an astonishing movie. Not perfect - he is a little rusty in his old Heidi-Marco-Anne skills - but far superior to any animated film released in the past year.. And I think this is a movie that will require time to grow on people. It will be fondly remembered years from now.
Seriously, where are these Miyazaki fans? Are you all broke or sick with the flu? What's the deal?
Daniel, I can't speak for the rest of North America, but with the case of my city, the empty seats in the theatres are due to a lack of knowledge.
I have a lot of friends who, although may not be a hardcore Ghibli fan like me, really enjoy Miyazaki's films.
Last year in my city, I saw a screening of From Up on Poppy Hill at a local arthouse theatre....the place was packed. The difference being that the theatre playing the movie, featured it in the front page of their monthly catalogue, which is distributed across the city. The Ghibli fans knew the movie was actually playing there, well in advance.
I think we can safely blame Disney for a lack of promotion. How can fans go see the new Ghibli film if they don't know it's playing in their city?
Anyway, I'm not really upset, I'm glad I was able to see The Wind Rises in theatres. (by the way, I saw the English dub, the only version playing here. I thought it was decent. I can't wait for the Blu-Ray to see how different the dialogue is with a literal translation...)
I saw it last Sunday in Chicago - opened early here - every seat was taken!
Having seen it already, I wouldn't recommend it to Miyazaki newbies simply because I didn't feel it represents the best of his work. To those who love Miyazaki, of course see it just cause it's well animated and it's Miyazaki and has plenty of trademarks.
Yes, it had an anti-war message but it also romanticized plane making. Now while the focus was just making a great plane, in my mind, I couldn't dismiss that the Zero's only purpose is as a fighter. This plane was cheered as a triumph as I recall, it wasn't denounced. It was just conflicting to me.
But I don't even think this is the movie's greatest sin. I felt the characters and their actions weren't that interesting/appealing. Jiro isn't as memorable a character as Porco, Nausicaa, Pazu, Kiki, Ashitaka, etc.. Even when compared with Ghibli's serious characters, not as memorable as Taeko, Setsuko, Seita. I found the romantic subplot to be cliche.
Joe Hisaishi's score was also unmemorable too which was a shame.
I probably will watch it again in the future to solidify/remind my feelings for it but my first watching wasn't that favorable.
I will certainly agree that The Wind Rises is not "entry level" Miyazaki. It's definitely "graduate level" in that it requires an awareness of the man's entire career. That said, I will kindly remind my American readers that most Westerners are almost completely unaware of Miyazaki's pre-Ghibli work - Toei Doga, A Pro, Nippon Animation, and Telecom.
After we finish the 2014 Animation Poll, I think Ghibli Blog will conduct a poll of Hayao Miyazaki's directorial works, all of them. I think most folks will be surprised how large that list really is.
The controversy over the Zero Fighter continues. I'm not sure what to make of it, actually. Airplanes are wonderful machines, and a lifelong passion for Miyazaki, but it was clear to any intelligent person that such inventions would be used in warfare. Should we then denounce the airplane itself? Should we denounce all engineers whose plane designs were used in war? Do you want to live in a world with pyramids, or without?
Should someone make a movie based on, say, Albert Einstein, should that be allowed? It was Einstein's theories that made possible the atomic bomb, humanity's most horrific weapon.
Interesting debate. Hope everyone is enjoying this movie. Go out to the theaters already!
I saw it last night. I thought it was amazing. I had to drive an hour to Indianapolis to see it, and the theater was about a third full. An interesting grouping, too--several middle aged and older couples by themselves, plus a few young kids and parents. Not a terrible turnout for a subtitled movie in an arthouse theater that hasn't been riding a wave of buzz and publicity.
I was amazed at how almost every beat of Jiro's life was made to parallel Miyazaki's, from wearing glasses to going to Europe and being rebuffed because of being Japanese to leading a team of young designers in revolutionary work, etc. Jiro's colleague Honju was clearly a stand-in for Takahata. The love story was clearly a tribute to his wife. Could the immediate superior at Mitsubishi be inspired by Yasuo Otsuka? This is clearly Miyazaki's most personal, autobiographical film. --No doubt you'll write about this soon and point out details I missed.
Stories about the creation of terrible things or the atrocities of making great things, well for one thing there's a matter of historical accuracy, but it's always more meaningful to say something strong about the cost/consequences.
Miyazaki to his credit, did put an anti-war message, I can't remember clearly how it was said, (was it a in a conversation with the Italian friend at the end?) maybe because I remember it was a remark rather than something explored. I don't remember it feeling tacked on but it wasn't the a significant theme of the movie and the movie wasn't developed to make that statement. Not being the focus, did this movie even need that? Maybe, maybe not. I'm glad there was something; I just wanted something stronger, more self critical.
Grave of the Fireflies makes a greater anti-war statement without even stating it, without even wanting to state it, according to Takahata.
Some people would mention Porco as a great pairing with this movie. I like Porco because even though he's only out for himself, he's disillusioned with everybody. Actually I think a better pairing of this would be with Grave of the Fireflies, shown afterward as a double feature for a great follow up/counter point.
Pickford finally decided to show it, both dubbed and subbed. I'm glad their showing it subbed, because I just really prefer watching Japanese movies in Japanese, especially if it's my first experience. Can't wait to see it!
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