19 Nov 2014
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Japan
2013
126 min
Miyazaki’s final animated film is a breathtaking dream of flying crafted with hand-drawn attention to detail. A rich treat for the eye and soul alike, the fictional tale is inspired by the life of second world war Zero fighter plane designer, Jiro Horikoshi and the writings of Tatsuo Hori. The story plays out over a troubled historical canvas encompassing the great Kanto earthquake of 1923, years of depression and the descent into war. Against such a bleak background however, ambition and imagination take flight as a young nearsighted Jiro meets Italian aeronautical designer Gianni
Caproni in his dreams and realises that although he cannot become a pilot, a career in engineering will give him wings.