“The wind is rising. We must try to live.”
synopsis
Inspired by the life of aircraft designer Jiro Horikoshi, the film follows a young engineer whose childhood fascination with flight matures into the design of fighter planes during a turbulent era in Japanese history. As he pursues beauty in machinery, he confronts the reality that his creations will be used for war.
pairs well with ...
mini-review
Quiet, elegiac, and deeply adult, this is less a biography than a meditation on ambition and consequence. The film treats engineering as art — rivets and blueprints rendered with lyrical care. Yet beneath the dream sequences and romantic interludes lies a sober reckoning: can one separate creative passion from destructive application? The tone is neither celebratory nor condemnatory. It’s reflective, almost mournful, recognizing that beauty and tragedy often share a blueprint.
A contemplative evening and appreciation for quiet films that trust your patience.
Absurdist's Corner
Designing elegant machines of flight while the world edges toward war may be the most poetic form of denial ever animated.
fun facts
The title references a line from French poet Paul Valéry.
The film was initially announced as the director’s retirement project.
Real historical figures appear alongside fictionalized emotional threads.