At the first of the month we got the sad news that age 72, one of the world’s most influential and talented filmmakers is hanging up his hat. The retirement of Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, was announced via colleague Koji Hoshino at Venice Film Festival, but for those that still had a tinge of hope left that he’d stick around, we’ve got confirmation that’s not the case.
At a Tokyo press conference, THR picked up the news that the helmer confirmed “he would never make another film of any kind.” Giving the reasons for retirement as his age and failing eyesight, he goes on to say, “I have said before a lot of times that I would retire. So many of you might think it is the same thing once again, but I am serious this time. This will not happen again.”
While we will miss the man’s talents on screen, we do have some good news to go with the announcement, as Walt Disney and Studio Ghibli have surprised us, revealing we’ll get his final film, The Wind Rises, sooner than expected. The animation will get an Oscar-qualifying run in New York and LA from November 8th to 14th, complete in its original Japanese with English subtitles, before heading back into theaters on February 21st ahead of a wide expansion on the 28th. One can check back for our review and see the official synopsis below and head over here for the trailer.
In “The Wind Rises,” Jiro—inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni—dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes. Nearsighted from a young age and thus unable to become a pilot, Jiro joins the aircraft division of a major Japanese engineering company in 1927. His genius is soon recognized, and he grows to become one of the world’s most accomplished airplane designers. The film chronicles much of his life, and depicts key historical events that deeply affected the course of Jiro’s life, including the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic and Japan’s plunge into war. He meets and falls in love with Nahoko, and grows and cherishes his friendship with his colleague Honjo. A tremendous innovator, Jiro leads the aviation world into the future. Miyazaki pays tribute to engineer Jiro Horikoshi and author Tatsuo Hori in his creation of the fictional character Jiro—the center of the epic tale of love, perseverance, and the challenges of living and making choices in a turbulent world.
Are you looking forward to seeing The Wind Rises soon? What do you make of Miyazaki’s retirement?