With Studio Ghibli’s The Wind Rises sitting at number one for four weeks running in Japan, and what’s sure to be a successful festival tour picking up with the Venice Film Festival one would believe that everything was going fine for Hayao Miyazaki. Watching the new trailer above, with it’s stunning animation and impeccable sense melancholy it’s hard to imagine anyone being upset with the film.
Anyone but Japanese nationalists of which the current Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, is one. Abe, who is attempting to roll back Japanese laws to pre-WWII, redefine the country’s role in the war and basically re-instate the emperor as rule, has taken offense to the film’s anti-military slant. Miyazaki has in fact spoken out against Japan’s turn towards nationalism, calling Japan’s activity in WWII “truly stupid.”
Obviously these issues won’t really affect the film for US markets, but it’s interesting to see that Studio Ghibli’s films can pack quite the social punch. For a more knowledgeable and in depth report on the controversy head to the South China Morning Post’s article on the subject.
