The Duality of Marco and Porco Rosso

This scene in Porco Rosso shows Marco's true face for a quick moment. Teenage Fio is shocked at the sight, but when he realizes he is being watched, Porco's pig face returns. It's a great moment that gets at the heart of the hero's identity and the movie's themes of being bound to the past and the romance of nostalgia.

Western audiences can never understand why Porco Rosso has a pig's head, and this insistence on literal "realism" in animation is slightly depressing. Nothing about this medium is real. You are looking at pencil drawings and paintings, not actors on a soundstage. You are looking at something that is itself a product of the imagination, and that fact carries a certain surrealism and symbolism in its very bones.

Miyazaki portrays Marco as a pig because it represents his disgust with humanity as a result of his experiences fighting the Great War. He feels disconnected from the outside world, not only those who never had to fight, but those who allowed the war to happen. The war robbed him of his best friend who had just married his true love, and out of loyalty he has stood aside all these years. He has lost his friendships and his very future, and has accepted this as his personal cross to bear, a survival's guilt that manifests in the curse of the pig face.

Much like Howl's Moving Castle, this movie shows us the psychological costs of war and what it does to those who fight. Howl the wizard was slowly turned into a monster that overcame his humanity and identity, leaving him an inanimate creature by the very end. Marco/Porco is likewise split between two identities and has lost his true sense of self. It is only by making a new friendship with Fio that he begins to reclaim his humanity once more.

Marco is deep in his work on the beach, and so he lowers his guard, lowering the mask that he shows to the outside world. We see his true face, or at least the romantic ideal of how he would look, as an older version of the young boy who fought the war. Perhaps he is meditating on that conflict and his vow to kill his rival, Curtis. Porco Rosso has famously vowed never to take another life (a fact that is revealed later), but now he seems prepared to cross that line. But then Fio moves and he is quickly snapped out of his meditative state. Porco is back in character.

The image of Marco also serves as foreshadowing to his story of the great air battle, in which so many pilots were killed, including his childhood friend. It also anticipates the coming battle, which is expected to be a fight to the death. We know why Curtis is fighting. He's fighting to take Porco's place, not only in the skies but at Gina's side. But why is Porco fighting? Is it pure cynicism and detachment, or merely revenge? Is he fighting to hold onto Gina, who he loves yet also keeps at arm's length? Should he still be duty-bound to a friend long deceased? Should he run away with Fio instead? Should he still cling to his own myth and identity? And what if clinging onto that mythical identity costs him everything else? Who will you become once you can no longer be yourself?

All things must pass. This is the major emotional thrust of this movie. This is the lesson that Porco must learn in order to survive, and this shot and scene is where all those threads come together. The climax isn't really the air battle, which ends in a comical cartoon farce. Miyazaki isn't interested in machismo or settling scores. He will instead take the air out of the tires and turn the external conflict into one big joke. It's the internal conflict that matters. There the real war will be lost or won.

Ghibli Riffs: Porco Rosso

Studio Ghibli gives itself a rare cameo in Hayao Miyazaki's Porco Rosso, as seen here on the airplane engine. We also see the name "Ghibli" on a passing bus in Kiki's Delivery Service in a quick shot. And didn't Mimi/Whisper also have the studio's name etched onto a grandfather clock? This was definitely a recurring thing for a time, but why it was begun and later abandoned is anybody's guess. They just did it for fun, I suppose.

Ghibli Fest 2018: Porco Rosso in US Theaters in May

Ghibli Fest 2018, the annual Studio Ghibli movie festival presented by GKIDS and Fathom Events, continues its series of theatrical screenings with Porco Rosso, Hayao Miyazaki's 1992 animated adventure. The movie will be shown on May 20 (dubbed), May 21 (subtitled) and May 23 (dubbed). As always, both Japanese and English language soundtracks will be available for the benefit of all fans.

Porco Rosso is a nostalgic romance in the style of classic Hollywood cinema. If you're a fan of Humphrey Bogart, then you'll love this picture. It tells the tale of daring airline pilots and pirates who fly the seas of the Adriatic in the days before the rise of fascism and war, and focuses on a cynical pilot named Marco who has turned his back on humanity, a hotel owner named Gina who is Marco's lifelong friend and love interest, and a young airplane engineer named Fio. Thrown into this mix is a brash American pilot named Curtis who sees himself as Marco/Porco's rival in the skies and in love, and who always reminds me of Errol Flynn.

There are thrilling action scenes of airplane pilots and their amazing machines, including an exciting escape through the canals of a major city and a climactic air battle between the two rivals, but Porco Rosso is not an adventure movie. Instead, it is a thoughtful story of longing and loss, about nostalgia and the fading away of a golden age. It is more adult in its themes, yet retains the classic romanticism that we find in Miyazaki's stories. And, as always, there are many very funny moments that you will remember long after the lights come back on.

I'm a great fan of Porco Rosso. It feels like a definitive example of Studio Ghibli for me, in that it demonstrates the unique talents and abilities of its filmmakers. No other movie studio in the world could make a movie quite like this. It's heart lies in old Hollywood serials and post-war European cinema, and its pacing is far more relaxed and thoughtful than animated features in America, which more closely resemble roller coaster rides. Hayao Miyazaki is not interested in assaulting you with noise and tired story cliches. He aspires to something better, more grand and epic.

Miyazaki has always been sold in the West as the "Walt Disney of Japan," but this has never been true. A much more accurate comparison would be Steven Spielberg, whose movies are deeply nostalgic for classic Hollywood romantic adventures that are also tempered with a modern seriousness and sorrow. Porco Rosso is probably the most "Spielberg" movie Miyazaki has ever made. If you go in with that mindset, you'll have a terrific time.

The Japanese audio soundtrack is superb, featuring 60-year-old actor Shuichiro Moriyama as Marco/Porco and spoken in a gravel-like, world-weary voice. Here is a man who has survived war and remains haunted by the experience, and he is absolutely magnificent. The US English-language soundtrack created by Disney features Michael Keaton in the lead, and he also does an excellent job. He understands that he's really playing Bogey and he plays the part. I'm reminded of his role as the antagonist in Spider-Man Homecoming. Beyond that, I didn't care for the Disney dub, which made a number of casting mistakes (Cary Elwes plays Curtis, but he's using a bizarre cartoonish Kentucky accent when what you really want is his Errol Flynn impression, which is why you hired him in the first place). Worse, the script writers completely threw away the emotional climax of the movie, an absolutely criminal act that highlights the condescending nature of American animation; after all, cartoons only exist to keep toddlers quiet and docile, and are not considered "real" movies.

For my money, the real hidden gem is the French language soundtrack, which was commissioned for Porco Rosso's release in France and features veteran actor Jean Reno in the lead. He delivers the proper gravitas and weariness, but also elevates the role with a European nobility and stoicism. The entire French cast is equally superb, weighty and grown up and full of experience. Hayao Miyazaki is said to have preferred this soundtrack as the definitive take of this movie, and there are many times where I must agree. I do wish GKIDS would have included this version as well, but this dub is thankfully included on the home video releases.

However you enjoy Porco Rosso, be sure to see it on the big screen. Studio Ghibli movies work their magic most effectively in a dark theater with a room full of strangers. Go grab your tickets now before they sell out.

GKIDS Ghibli Fest 2018 Schedule

US animation movie distributor GKIDS returns once again with Ghibli Fest 2018, a year-long retrospective of Studio Ghibli movies in theaters. Films will be shown in both English (dub) and Japanese (subtitled) soundtracks and will be screened at theaters nationwide, courtesy of Fathom Events.

To purchase tickets online, visit the Fathom Events website.

Here is the official schedule for Ghibli Fest 2018. Be sure to bookmark this post for future references:

Ponyo
March 25, 26 and 28

The Cat Returns
April 22, 23 and 25

Porco Rosso
May 20, 21 and 23

Pom Poko
June 17, 18 and 20

Princess Mononoke
July 22, 23 and 25

Grave of the Fireflies
August 12, 13 and 15

My Neighbor Totoro
September 30, October 1 and 3

Spirited Away
October 28, 29 and 30

Castle in the Sky
November 18, 19 and 20

Studio Ghibli Blu-Rays: Porco Rosso, Arrietty on November 21

Porco Rosso and The Secret World of Arrietty are the newest titles to be reissued this Tuesday, November 21 on Blu-Ray, courtesy of GKIDS. They join the catalog migration to their new home at the US animation distributor.

Compared to previous Studio Ghibli reissues, there does not appear to be any notable changes from the previous Disney-released titles. Both movies feature new cover designs which are a genuine improvement, although I did like Disney's Arrietty poster. There were hopes that GKIDS would succeed in securing the UK soundtrack dub for Arrietty, but they were unsuccessful.

In any case, every Ghibli collector will want to have these movies in their movie library. Both are excellent films that your family will love. I know that I will be picking up a couple copies of Porco Rosso for early Christmas presents. And Arrietty was the most successful of all the Studio Ghibli movies in US theaters; this movie has a very devoted fan following.

Ghibli Fan Posters: Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, Porco Rosso

Here are a pair of excellent fan-designed movie posters for two of my favorite Hayao Miyazaki movies, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind and Porco Rosso. I really enjoy these designs, which incorporate an indie comic book style. Nausicaa evokes the surreal images of the Ohmu shell, with the title character seated near the eye and the toxic fungus. Porco Rosso evokes the myth and mystery of its central character, a legendary pilot who has renounced his humanity.

Poster designs like these always remind me of the way movie posters were made long, long ago. It was an established art form all its own, as movie collectors and fans will tell you. Once the conglomerates took over the major Hollywood studios, however, everything became subsumed by marketing hacks. Everything just became another crummy commercial. The age of Photoshop has been especially cruel. Movies can still be magical. Most of the time, however, they're nothing more than plastic, a disposable product designed for immediate consumption, discarded three days after opening. Meh.

I want classic movie posters again. Don't you? Of course, you do.

Riffs: Porco Rosso, Finding Nemo

Here is a charming little Easter Egg for Studio Ghibli and Pixar fans. This shot of sailors joining together to form a giant arrow in Porco Rosso was directly riffed in Finding Nemo, where a large school of fish join together in another arrow. It's a funny little gag that works on its own, and if you're a Miyazaki fan, you'll be especially delighted.

Aside from the Totoro cameos in Toy Story 3, can you think of any Ghibli riffs in the Pixar movies? Any takers? Bueller?

Photos: Porco Rosso

Here are some Blu-Ray screenshots of Hayao Miyazaki's wonderfully nostalgic and bittersweet animated drama Porco Rosso. For the longest time, I felt this was the best movie Studio Ghibli ever made, and that may still be true. It doesn't rank as highly as some of the more visually dazzling or exciting movies, but it has a quiet confidence, a presence that is not immediately felt but revealed slowly over time. This is a movie that rewards multiple viewings, as its complicated back story is just as important as what happens on the screen.

It's fascinating that Miyazaki made a movie about romantic, adventurous air pilots, only to depict them in the closing days of their careers, instead of their younger years when legends were made. Marco the pilot is respected and awed by friends and rivals, and we only rarely see glimpses of the skills that created that respect.

A Hollywood production would focus on a younger Marco, not the disillusioned, older Porco. They would demand endless chase scenes and thrilling air battles. They certainly would not be happy if the director would decide, like Miyazaki, to limit the action to small fits and starts, and then turn the climactic showdown into the equivalent of a pie fight. The ending to this movie is a lot closer to Blazing Saddles, as Porco and his rival throw wrenches instead of bullets, and end up in a very stereotypical cartoon punch-out. Somewhere, Popeye and Bluto are feeling jealous.

Porco Rosso is the work of a mature storyteller. I don't think the younger Miyazaki could create something like this. He was wildly inventive and funny in Puss in Boots and Animal Treasure Island and Ali Baba, but those were over-the-top cartoons with no greater pretentious. This movie soars among the clouds, rich in unspoken histories and inferred legends.

New Studio Ghibli Blu-Ray Releases

On Tuesday, February 3, Disney released three Studio Ghibli Blu-Ray discs: Porco Rosso, Pom Poko, and Tales From Earthsea. Amazon should be your retailer of choice; my recent visits to Target and Barnes & Noble were unsuccessful, and I'm guessing these titles won't be heavily stocked on physical shelves.

This release falls under the category of "contractual obligation." Disney has slowly edged away from Studio Ghibli for the past couple years, as New York distributors GKids Films has taken on the load. With these three movies, most of the Studio Ghibli BDs are now available in North America. The only remaining titles in Disney's possession: The Cat Returns, Spirited Away, My Neighbors the Yamadas. I would expect one final home video release.

As for Omohide Poro Poro, the Studio Ghibli movie Disney wouldn't touch, I remain hopeful that GKids would release the BD on their own. Umi ga Kikoeru has yet to see a high-definition release in Japan, much less the West, and nobody knows its fate (the DVD, thankfully, is still available).

The Next Wave of Studio Ghibli BD's - Porco Rosso, Pom Poko, and Tales From Earthsea Starring Julian Lennon

Hot on the heels of this week's release of The Wind Rises, Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery Service on Blu-Ray, Disney has announced its next wave of Studio Ghibli movies in the States for February 3, 2015.  The next movies to arrive on BD...Porco Rosso, Pom Poko, and Tales From Earthsea.  Terrific!

This is very welcome news.  I had all but given up on Disney, who are notorious for dragging their heels on releasing Studio Ghibli movies on home video.  They appear to have all but given up at this point, leaving GKids as the new de-facto face of Ghibli in America. Now this sudden rush to get everything out the door...this is a very welcome surprise.

Porco Rosso is a favorite of mine.  It's quintessential Studio Ghibli: inspired by romantic adventure movies of yore, quietly nostalgic, more interested in telling a story about people instead of mindless action or dumb violence, and filled with humanity.  This is a wonderfully rich and layered movie, one that only could be told by the middle-aged Hayao Miyazaki; the younger Miyazaki of Horus and Animal Treasure Island, Lupin and Conan, couldn't possibly have pulled it off. This story requires that bittersweet nostalgia that only comes with age and experience.  And it's also very, very funny.  For years, Porco Rosso was my go-to "Miyazaki show-off" movie.  I hope it will be the same for you.

Heisei Tanuki Gassan Pom Poko, shortened to just "Pom Poko" in the West, is a harder nut to crack. It's less accessible for those not steeped in Japanese folklore or culture, and director Isao Takahata really isn't interested in meeting us halfway.  You must do your homework and meet on his terms. I think this film is a near-masterpiece, a sprawling, densely packed epic fable that fuses a mock documentary style with cultural history lesson and social satire, all wrapped in Paku-san's trademark character melodrama. The visual style is wildly inventive, darting from neo-realism to surrealism without warning. Pom Poko is a classic rock double album of a movie, a Physical Graffiti for animation.  It may be too sprawling, too dense, too much.  But the same could be said of Graffiti, or Exile on Main Street, or The White Album, or any double album.

I think Pom Poko suffered visually from the DVD format; colors were too washed out, too bleached out. Expect the Blu-Ray to restore all that rich color and visual detail previously missing from home video. I also think this movie suffers from its US Disney dub, which is clearly a weaker effort in the Ghibli catalog.  It's a hard movie to translate and pass off as American; this movie doesn't want to be assimilated. And it needs to be said: Johnathan Taylor Thomas was a clunky choice. Maurice Lemarche was much better, but isn't he always?

Pom Poko is one of only two Takahata films - the other being his 1987 live-action documentary, The Story of Yanagawa Canals - based on an original script, and not an adaptation. Perhaps that explains the epic, rambling nature. Paku-san just keeps piling on details, episodes, topics of discussion, hurling out ideas that lead to yet more discussions about yet more topics. He seems hellbent on solving the riddle of Modern Japan, a Westernized nation in danger of dissolving its sacred past.

Finally, Tales From Earthsea, Goro Miyazaki's 2006 directorial debut.  This movie took a drubbing from fans and critics, while Goro himself was ridiculed for coming across as the Ungrateful Son. I was not very fond of Earthsea when it was released, but I am willing to give it another chance, to try and appreciate the movie on its terms, and not as a running commentary on the Miyazaki clan and Studio Ghibli's quest to find a successor to the throne.Is it possible to appreciate this movie without all that bagging hanging overhead?

Picking the middle book in Ursula K. Le Guin's fantasy saga feels odd, particularly when only a single feature film would be made and not a trilogy. A television series would probably have been wiser. The greater story needed to be fleshed out, the mythology needed room to grow.  And Goro-san needed every opportunity to develop his skills. He's a third-string quarterback thrown into the big game without even learning the entire playbook. It shows. Goro Miyazaki is the Christian Ponder of anime.

That said, I did enjoy Tales From Earthsea's rich color palette, its impressive locales and scene designs. It will look sumptuous on Blu-Ray. Fans will be thrilled and Ghibli Freaks will have another title in their movie libraries. It might not get played, but it will look great sitting there on the shelf.

Trailers - My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso

This weekend, the Studio Ghibli Film Festival at the Minneapolis Lagoon Cinema kicks off its second week with the Hayao Miyazaki's classics: My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Porco Rosso.  Totoro will appear in Japanese and English versions, while Kiki and Porco are both in Japanese, w/subtitles.

My Neighbor Totoro is easily the star of the show.  It's the iconic Studio Ghibli movie, and if you've only come to the festival for one or two movies, Totoro is likely on your list.  My advice?  Buy your tickets early, because they're going to sell out fast.  The English-language version will definitely be packed with the younger kids, but parents should feel fine bringing the family to the Japanese (English subtitled) version as well.  The subtitles are large enough that it's easy to read.  Besides, we've all seen Totoro a thousand times by now.

Kiki's Delivery Service gets less attention than Totoro, but I think it's an equally great movie, continuing its pastoral sense of daily life, and painted in wonderful shades of green.  It's the rare coming-of-age story that focuses equally on what is lost (childhood) on the path to adolescence.  Miyazaki is honest with his audience, and I really respect that.  I don't know if the subtitles are true subtitles, or the dreaded "dub-titles" that we've been stuck with for years.  The key will be whether there's a Hindenberg gag line ("Oh, the humanity").  That line's not in the Japanese script.

Porco Rosso is my personal favorite of the three; I've seen the others on the big screen before, so we'll probably see this one on Sunday.  For a long time, this was my "go-to" movie for introducing newcomers to Hayao Miyazaki.  Here is a film with action and adventure, romance and nostalgia, slapstick comedy and melodrama, and many peaceful, quiet moments.  This is far closer to an animated Casablanca than Star Wars, and I do respect the film for not assaulting me with endless fight scenes.  The characters and their internal dramas take center stage.  It's Miyazaki's Mid-Life Crisis movie.

As always, here are the trailers for you to watch, so you can decide which movies to attend.  Obviously, if you have the money, see them all, but remember that this week includes Princess Mononoke, Mimi wo Sumaseba and Omohide Poro Poro.  Could we play all these movies for another few weeks, please?

Studio Ghibli Zippo Lighters

Okay, wait...what?  Studio Ghibli Zippo lighters.  Huh.  I honestly did not see that one coming.  It does get points for style, I'll give it that.  But sometimes I don't think Studio Ghibli quite groks the whole concept of "merchandising."

Then again, Hayao Miyazaki is the same person responsible for this little gem of '70s pop culture.  God bless you, sir!

Porco Rosso: The Last Sortie - Hayao Miyazaki's Next Movie?

Is "Porco Rosso: The Last Sortie" the title of Hayao Miyazaki's next directorial feature film?  Rumors have been flying for a number of months, and I'm very reluctant to give much attention to them (especially when the gossip comes from Westerners).  However, three recent developments give rise to this new theory on a possible Porco Rosso sequel:

1) Toshio Suzuki mentioned a few months ago that Miyazaki-san was considering the idea of revisiting the Porco Rosso world, if not a direct sequel, then a spiritual cousin of sorts.  This story would revolve around the Adriadic air pilots between the two World Wars, or perhaps would take place before the original movie.  It wasn't determined if this story idea would become an animated film or short-form comic.

2)  In their recent interview with Arrietty director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, the Guardian UK stated that the young director is now involved in Hayao Miyazaki's next film, a sequel to Porco Rosso.  I send an email asking for clarification and sources, but I haven't received a reply (perhaps they're busy with that Murdoch affair?).

3)  The IMdB has "Porco Rosso: The Last Sortie" listed as a 2012 release.

Studio Ghibli is famously tight-lipped about their projects, and we really only discover what's happening when they show us.  And right now, their major focus is Kokuriko.  Notice how Father Miyazaki is very often the public face of the studio's rollout.  They want Japan's goodwill to transfer to son Goro's new movie, especially in the shadow of the earthquake and nuclear disasters.  Even the Blu-Ray release of Mimi/Whisper is timed to coincide with Kokuriko's release.  I don't think we'll be hearing about Ghibli's next feature for a while.

Right now, I honestly don't know any more about "The Last Sortie" than any of you.  But I find the idea intriguing, particularly that subtitle, if for only this reason: Miyazaki-san has long used the pig character as his avatar, mostly in his color comics, and Marco the pilot was very much a self-portrait.  The Last Sortie for 70-year-old Miyazaki...hmm, interesting.

Heck, I'll just jump right out and say it: I think this next movie will be Hayao Miyazaki's final directorial feature film.  I've got a lot of reasons for this, and I'll have to explain myself in a future post.  But I'll just let you discuss the topic for now.

Miyazaki Comics - The Age of the Flying Boat (1989)

Hayao Miyazaki wrote and painted The Age of the Flying Boat in 1989 for Model Grafx Magazine in Japan.  This story was later evolved and expanded into Studio Ghibli's 1992 movie, Porco Rosso.  In 1993, Animerica Magazine scored an impressive scoop: an English translation, released in three monthly installments, as part of their extensive coverage of Porco Rosso and all things Miyazaki.

This must have been amazing to read back then.  Holding this comic in your hands was pure gold.  There was no hope of ever seeing the movie, unless you knew someone in Japan.  Porco Rosso wouldn't be officially released in North America until 2006!  Oh, the dark days when Ghibli's films were impossible to find, copied and shuttled around on beaten videotapes among the anime underground.  Even with the popular success of Katruhiro Otomo's Akira, and the hunger for "Japanimation" (Thank God that word was retired), Miyazaki would remain an unknown for another decade.

What a wonderful luxury we have today with the internet.  I am humbled and grateful that such works are now freely available.  I've helped to play my role in bringing that about.  I hope you enjoy reading "Crimson Pig" in The Age of the Flying Boat, from the pages of Animerica.


Part One - Animerica, July 1993:

Part Two - Animerica, August 1993:

Part Three - Animerica, September 1993:

Movie Review: Porco Rosso (1992)

February 25, 2005

Whenever I want to show a Hayao Miyazaki movie to someone who has never heard of Studio Ghibli, I'll almost always go for Porco Rosso. Of all their great movies, it's this one that best embodies all the great traits and characterists of the great film studio. It has adventure, imagination, and great humor; but it's also quiet and often reflective, a nostalgic romanticism.

Porco Rosso is a story set in the Adriatic in 1929, during the early days of the Great Depression and the rise of Italian fascism. The main character is a pilot named Marco, who was a legendary fighter pilot in the Great War and now works as a bounty hunter and lives alone on an island. Marco also happens to be a pig.

By that, I mean he's crude and lazy. He's put on pounds in middle-age. He can be rather blunt and he carries some sexist attitudes towards women. In other words, he's a damned pig.

You can always tell you're dealing with an unimaginative soul when he or she can't figure out, good glavin, why does this guy look like a pig? It's as if they never discovered the novel concept of the metaphor. The icon, as Scott McCloud calls it. As his great polemic Understanding Comics puts it, all visual art is abstract and symbolic. Icons are merely the symbols, the language, that we have commonly agreed upon. This is not an airplane. This is not a pig.

One of the great joys of watching a Miyazaki film is seeing how he brings a painter's instinct to movies. If Porco Rosso were a live-action movie, Marco would be played by some middle-aged actor channelling Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. But animation doesn't deal in reality; it deals in abstraction and symbolism. Marco as a pig is a great touch of cariciture.

In a Disney picture, this point would be literalised and drowned in cliches like magic spells and fairy godmothers. Miyazaki wisely prefers to play it straight; the director depends on his emotional honesty. This also has the benefit of setting up the best line in the picture: "Id rather be a pig than a fascist."

This isn't a movie about Italian airplanes and firefights, but about people and relationships. Its focus on Marco as disillusioned and cynical is a personal self-portrait by Miyazaki. Of all the characters he has created over the years, it's Marco that he most closely identifies with. As My Neighbor Totoro was a personal film about his childhood, Porco Rosso is Miyazaki's self-portrait of midlife.

Those of us in the West, when discovering Miyazaki, draw upon his sweeping romanticism and sense of kindness. But if you invest enough time with his work, particularly his Nausicaa graphic novel, you discover an artist always in conflict. On one side, we have his love of nature, his idealism. On the other side, we see the doubt and cynicism, his world-weariness and realism.

Very often, these traits are embodied in the two female leads, what I'd call Miyazaki's "two sisters." The younger "sister" is the idealist, the older "sister" the realist. There are minor variations from film to film, but the same pattern is always present.

I think this is why girls and women are so strongly developed in his movies, so fully portrayed and emotionally honest. In Porco Rosso, the "older sister" is a woman named Gina who owns a restaurant and has known Marco since childhood. She's a wonderfully self-assured, independant person, but also wise to the ways of the world, and maybe a little sad.

The "younger sister" is a 17-year-old redhead named Fio, the granddaughter of a mechanic Marco turns to when his plane is damaged in an ambush. True to form, she is a firebrand, and also a skilled mechanic who rebuilds the plane while withstanding Marco's wisecracks. Eventually, she leaves with Marco, and the two develop a special bond together.

I think the greatest strength of Porco Rosso lies in how gradually, how casually, the extent of Gina and Marco's relationship is revealed. Most people will say the picture's best scene is Marco's story of what happened to him in the war (revealing, in a sense, why he lost faith in humanity), which is taken from a Roald Dahl short story called They Shall Not Grow Old. It's a great moment, there's a better scene.

In this scene, Gina is sitting in her garden, weathering marriage proposals from Donald Curtis, a bumbling Errol Flynn-ish rival to Marco. She's discreetly cutting him off at the knees, in that way old Hollywood starlets could do. She reveals, in so many words, that she's in love with the fat pig, and is waiting for him to show up and do something about it. At that moment, she hears a sound, and rushes out to see Marco in his familiar red plane. As he performs a series of loops, Gina suddenly recalls an old memory from childhood: the first time she flew in a plane with Marco.

It's all so wonderful, one of the great romantic moments in the movies. If you're not moved to tears, then you should probably go to a doctor. There's something seriously wrong with you.

I don't think Porco Rosso could be made in America. The temptation would be too strong to merely pile on one chase scene after another, at the expense of the characters; we see the wreckage at the multiplexes nearly every week. Miyazaki certainly is a master of action comparable to Eisenstein, Ford, and Kurosawa, but he also has little patience for simple melodrama and often depicts boys' violence as childish and silly. The odd collection of air pirates are more rivals than villans, and their screwball antics are played for comedy.

The reason the climactic air duel between Marco and Curtis is so good is because it's the only major action set-piece in the entire movie. The whole story is building up to this moment, and it's a terrific payoff. Then Miyazaki does something no American director would dare: he takes all the air out of the tires and turns the whole thing into a farce. These two pilots are reduced to hurling wrenches in mid-air and throwing punches.

The movie's final exclamation mark is another touching moment of affection, this time between Marco and Fio. It's a farewell romantic gesture for a passing era, of a world sliding towards fascism and the hell it will unleash. The world as we know it may be ending, but at least we have one another. It's the grand theme of one of cinema's great masters.

Background Art of Porco Rosso

Okay, this post is definitely a ploy on my part to influence the "Best Miyazaki Movie" vote. Porco Rosso is lagging behind at the moment, and it's a favorite movie of mine. It may even be my favorite of Miyazaki's directoral films....but I say that about all of them. Heh.

Courtesy of Wingsee, one of the great Studio Ghibli fansites, we have a collection of the spectacular background paintings from Porco Rosso. I'm a great fan of Kazuo Oga; his distinctive style defines Ghibli more than almost anyone, save the directors themselves. This Neorealist art style harkens back to Heidi, Marco, and Anne, with an obsession to real-life details unparalleled in the animation world. These films are very firmly grounded in the real world, even though they may contain fantastical elements - Marco as a pig, Kiki flying on a broomstick.

This is where Porco Rosso differs from any similar kind of movie in Hollywood. It's not a movie about explosions or chase scenes or the umpteenth knockoff of Star Wars. It's a movie about real people and their complicated lives. It's a movie grounded in emotional realism. This art style is essential for enabling that mood.

That first screenshot of the house reminds me so much of the old colonial district in Bogota. Its use of color, light and texture are amazing, they tell a story. Notice that the ceiling tiles are not uniform; notice the signs that have faded with time, and the worn chair beside the door. This is a painting that tells a story. It provides us with a history of this world, which, in turn, informs us about the characters and their lives.

Have I mentioned that Porco Rosso is an excellent movie? It's going to look stunning on Blu-Ray and a good plasma set.

Porco Rosso Wins!

The latest poll is closed, and Porco Rosso won out. It was a very tight race, as you'd expect it to be, but Miyazaki's 1992 Studio Ghibli movie is the one you most want to see at University of California-Berkeley. As I've written before, I've already seen Totoro and Mononoke on the big screen, albeit the dubbed versions. If I could only afford to go to one movie, it would be to one I haven't seen in a theatre before, which would probably wind up being Porco Rosso.

Since we're in a festive mood, here are some screenshots from the movie. They come from the excellent Ghibli website Buta Connection, which proves itself invaluable time and time again. Too bad I'm not fluent in French, eh?

If you want to introduce someone to Studio Ghibli and the films of Hayao Miyazaki, Porco Rosso is the perfect choice. Be sure to watch it in the Japanese- or French-language versions.

Hayao Miyazaki Live at Berkely - Ghibli Movies in July

Some exciting news for American Ghibli Freaks: Hayao Miyazaki will appear at UC Berkely on July 25. The Center for Japanese Studies will be awarding him the 2009 Berkely Japan Prize for his long and distinguished film career.

Miyazaki will be present for an interview, followed by a Q/A with the audience. That's right, folks, this event is open to the public.

For tickets, go here. Seating is extremely limited, so move quickly. It's going to sell out quick, if it hasn't done so already. Miyazaki visits the United States very rarely, so this may be your one great chance to meet and greet him.

More good news: there will also be screenings of Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli movies during July. These are actual 35mm film prints, not DVDs, on the big screen. And...drumroll, please.....Japanese language with English subtitles. Yaayy!

Here is the schedule for the Ghibli movies at Berkely:

Sunday, July 12, 20094:00 p.m. My Neighbor Totoro
Tuesday, July 14, 20097:00 p.m. Porco Rosso
Sunday, July 19, 20092:30 p.m. Castle in the Sky
Tuesday, July 21, 20097:00 p.m. Princess Mononoke

Personally, I would love to go to these events, but it's extremely unlikely I'd be able to. I have to save up for my next two trips with Marcee: Bogota in September, Bogota and Buenos Aires for New Years. This means somebody will have to attend and give the news reports for The Ghibli Blog. Anyone who is able to secure tickets to the Miyazaki event, please contact me.

Posters - Porco Rosso

I really love the classical romanticism of this poster for Porco Rosso. It's a bit unconventional by modern movie standards, but it's perfect for this film. This is not the umteenth ripoff of Star Wars. This is not a movie that revolves around noisy action scenes and explosions and firefights. This is a movie about romance and lost youth.

I often think of Porco Rosso as the definitive Studio Ghibli film, because it captures all of the great qualities of the studio's work - the impressionist artwork, the rustic adventurism, the Neorealist attention to detail, the emphasis on nuanced, three-dimensional characters, the sheer humanity of the stories. If you want to hook somebody into the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, this might be the perfect choice.

For Miyazaki, it's one of his more personal works, as he reworks one of his minor comics into a midlife crisis. The longing nostalgia speaks not just for the world before WWII, or the early years of aviation, but his own youth. The slapstick comedy harkens back to his early adventurous work, like Animal Treasure Island or Lupin III, and there's a sense of boyish fun throughout the picture.

And, of course, this wouldn't be Miyazaki without the strong female characters, who are the moral center of this film. There's a quiet romance between Marco and Gina that reveals itself, slowly, like a blossoming flower. They share a long history together, and the subtleties of their relationship, as well as Marco's reluctance to finally pursue Gina, are carefully revealed through glances, asides, grunts, and unspoken gestures.

The boys in this movie, of course, are all baffoons. Miyazaki gets his kicks from turning gender stereotypes on its ear, just as he enjoys portraying violence as so much boyish huffing and puffing. You could probably write a whole essay on that climactic air battle between Marco and Curtis. The whole movie builds up to the big fight, and when it comes, Miyazaki slashes the air out of the tires, and everything ends in a punchout worthy of The Three Stooges.

Again, great movie poster. There have been a couple other Porco Rosso posters, but this one is the best.

Porco Rosso: The Video Game Demo

Now this is just amazingly cool.

Owen Shepherd and Eli Curtz, from legendary UK games developer Traveller's Tales (Sonic R), created this little marvel in 2006, in which players reenact arial dogfights with the planes from Porco Rosso. This was done purely as a labor of love, and was never intended for commercial release, but you can see how fully fleshed out the game appears. They recreated the movie's planes in brilliant detail, and included scenery from the movie, including Gina's hotel.

I took these photos from Owen's page here, where he goes into finer detail on the Porco Rosso DS project. It reminds me vividly of a pair of great arial combat games on the Atari Lynx, Blue Lightning and Warbirds. I've long wondered why these type of videogames are no longer being made. Don't you miss those classic arcade-style games?