Miyazaki flies away

AFTER A FIVE-decade career in which brought the world of the Japanese cartoons known as anime to a world audience, director Hayao Miyazaki has announced his retirement. His final film is “Kaze Tachinu” (“The Wind Rises”), a passion project of Miyazaki’s that tells the story of the designer of Japanese figher planes in World War II.
“Miyazaki has decided that ‘Kaze Tachinu’ will be his last film and he will now retire,” Studio Ghibli chief Koji Hoshino told reporters at the Venice International Film Festival on Sunday.
Miyazaki has hinted at retiring a few times in the past.
Hoshino did not reveal why Miyazaki has decided to retire, but said: “There is a line in “Kaze Tachinu” that the creative period continues only for 10 years. Miayzaki has told me, ‘My 10 years have already finished.’”
Known as the “Walt Disney of Japan”, the 72-year-old Miyazaki began his career in 1963, working on the TV anime “Wanwan Chushingura” (“Watchdog Bow Wow”).
In 1979, he directed his first film, “Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro”. After he released “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”, which he wrote and directed in 1984, he helped found Studio Ghibli, which became his production base. At Studio Ghibli, Miyazaki produced “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, “Princess Mononoke” and other popular works. In 2001, “Spirited Away” chalked up a record 30.4 billion yen (Bt9.8 billion) at Japan’s box office.
“Spirited Away” also received international acclaim. It won the Golden Bear at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival and was the first Japanese film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
“The Wind Rises,” which has been showing since July 20, made 8 billion yen (about $80,704,000) at the box office as of the end of August and is vying for Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival.
“I’m sorry to hear Mr. Miyazaki will retire from filmmaking,” film critic Tadao Sato said. "I'm sure he can produce more works and has films he wants to produce. I didn't think his latest film would be his last work.
“Commercial animated features, including Disney, were only for families, but Miyazaki went beyond conventional frameworks and greatly contributed to international film history by innovatively expanding the anime world with high artistic quality.”
In recent years he’s been transitioning away from directing, writing screenplays for 2011’s “From Up on Poppy Hill”, directed by his son Goro, and 2010’s “Arietty”, directed by long-time Ghibli animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi.
“The Wind Rises” has already been well received in Japan but got mixed reactions in Venice.
It’s based on the life of Jiro Horikoshi, a fighter-jet designer during World War II, who as a child dreamt of becoming a pilot and went on to design the Mitsubishi A6M “Zero”.
“This is the first of Miyazaki’s films that has as its protagonist a real historical figure,” Hoshino said.
Horikoshi’s life “inspired” Miyazaki, he said.
Hoshino drew attention to finely-observed historical details in the animation and said it was intended for a wider audience, not just for children.