Ghibli's Goosebump Effect | The Wind Rises Review

Studio Ghibli is one of the world's most renowned animation studios; it's founder - Hayao Miyazaki - one of the most hailed creators in film history. From Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, to Howl's Moving Castle, to My Neighbour Totoro and onwards, this studio lodged itself in the film industry without chance, or volition, for removal. But in September last year, Miyazaki confirmed his retirement [third time lucky?], with his new film to be his last. So where does The Wind Rises sit on the Great Ghibli Scale? 

The Wind Rises follows the life and dream of Jirō Horikoshi - inspired by the Japanese Chief Engineer of the same name - as he builds his career, his ambition, and his romantic life. The film spans a pretty wide era; starting with the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 and concluding shortly after World War II. A sort of filmic Bildungs-Roman. We see Jirō transition from boy to man; we see his aviation dreams become reality; we see his love, we see his loss.

These last points are definitely what separates The Wind Rises from the studio's previous films. Take three of their highest grossing films - My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle. They're famous for being loved despite age or generation, but they're decidedly child-friendly. The Wind Rises is a different story. It's rated PG in the UK, with a warning of a brief bloody scene and images of smoking. It's definitely suitable for kids, but the themes and questions thrown into the air by the film - the morality of designing "killing machines", war, disease, natural disaster and death - are undoubtedly adult. This film flies high above the others in terms of severity. The movie's fantastic, parts are purely fantastical, but it's certainly not a fantasy.

A due point of applause is the film's imagery. Miyazaki's films are always aesthetically pleasing, but The Wind Rises is a veritable sight for sore eyes. The colours are vibrant, the framing genial, and the scenery magnificent. Everything is detailed. So detailed that the team spent an entire year crafting one crowd scene. But perhaps most important is how Miyazaki has managed to draw the wind so accurately. The representations of wind and motion are so stunning that I was actually left with goosebumps for a long portion of the film.
Studio Ghibli animator Kitaro Kosaka, when asked about drawing something intangible like wind, pointed out to Total Film that Miyazaki has been drawing wind his entire life. It's in all of his work. And what better way to showcase his life's work than in a film dedicated entirely to the air?

This is an utterly beautiful film, and a gorgeously graceful way for Miyazaki to bow out.

Amidst Exams | Days 41-46

Exams, exams, exams. Life's not too fun during exam season. Still managing to find some joy in my days though!

Caught Big Brother watching the moon

Retail therapy to ease the exam strain

Time for tennis with the niece and nephew

Fresh after a downpour

Discovered a funky new building in Manchester

It's finally sunny and they've boarded up our windows!

On the up side, I'm half way through my exams! Only three weeks left and then I'm completely done. Believe me, I'm counting the days. On a lighter note, I saw the new Studio Ghibli film, The Wind Rises, a couple of days ago; so expect a review!

A Star Actors and Atrocious Accents | Locke Review

Hardened criminal in Bronson, tough-guy Eames in Inception, strong and silent Bondurant in Lawless, and the indescribable Bane in Dark Knight Rises. It's fair to say Hardy's been typecast as... well, as the brick shithouse that he is. But then came Locke. Hardy's new role as the beige family man Ivan is at least a little off the beaten track, but how does he do with this new image?

Sultry suits you lad. [Is there anything that doesn't?]

First things first, I went into this movie expecting an entirely different experience to what I got. The Ivan Locke we see in the trailers is much more Hardy-esque than the Locke we see in the film. In the ad, he's a man on a mission, and sinister music gives us that timeless cinematic sense of impending doom. But curtain up to the movie's real Ivan, and he's a run-of-the-mill construction worker trying to straighten out a glitch. Perhaps a miscommunication between the trailer-makers and the movie-makers? Or a tactical advertising strategy. 

Luckily, the real movie isn't a disappointment in comparison to the ad. In fact, it's quite refreshing. There's an endless stream of fast paced action movies in cinemas all year round. Locke is in a league of its own. Much like Gravity, Locke is a single set film. Apart from a short scene at Ivan's construction site at the beginning, the entire film comprises of Hardy behind the wheel, with only voice roles from other actors [recorded from a hotel room]. Personally, Gravity was perhaps one of the most annoying films I've ever seen. It's like being locked in a room with someone else, they'll get annoying pretty quickly simply because it's just you and them. But Locke dodges this. And it's the writing of the character that lets us avoid it. While Bullock's character in Gravity was an utterly regular person, and therefore subject to making human errors, Hardy's character here is, as Total Film's Matt Glasby puts it, solid. He calculates every move he makes. He surveys every problem. Considers every risk. He makes no mistakes. There isn't any point in the film where you clench your fists and fight the urge to scream, "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST -!!!" And that leaves you with an audience nodding their heads in agreement with Ivan's every decision. 

Aside from writing a great character, Steven Knight's screenplay makes the film all-round very watchable. If you're not a Die Hardy Fan like me [see what I did there?], you might be sceptical of a film which comprises 85 minutes of Tom Hardy's face. Don't be. Knight has an incredible talent for having his audience on the edge of their seats even though the character doesn't leave his. In fact, I was shocked when it was over. I like to measure the quality of a film by the amount I check the time while it's running. Locke might be short, but I didn't even have the urge for a timecheck once in the 85 minutes. I could gladly have sat through a script twice the length. That said, nothing more was needed. The film doesn't have a cathartic end, but who needs one? Locke is short and sweet. Knight doesn't hide behind action or cinematics or any other frills - he cuts the crap and executes this drama perfectly. Bravo, Mr Knight.

It's not just Knight that deserves applause, though. The cast is excellent. Olivia Colman is fantastic as usual, and immediately identifiable despite being a floating voice. Andrew Scott [another of my personal favourites] is similarly noticeable, and equally wonderful as a voice actor.

Andrew Scott (Plays Donal)

Olivia Colman (Plays Bethan)

Rounding back to the question in hand, how does Hardy handle Ivan? In a word, calmly. There are a couple of psychotic outbursts from Hardy's character directed at his rear view mirror [alias; Ivan's Father], but other than that, this character is calm in every situation. He navigates countless "roadblocks" without panic. Given Hardy's usual violent, sporadic characters (Bronson, Bane), his performance as Ivan makes Gandhi look like a radical. The only problem I had with this performance was quite an unfortunate and noticeable one. There's some sort of strange accent work going on here. It took me a good seven minutes to figure out that this was Hardy as a welshman. After pondering this choice for many hours once I left the cinema, I've come to the conclusion that the casting directors heard his efforts as Bane, and thought he'd have welsh in the bank in no time. Close, but no cigar. It's not unbearable, but it's definitely not welsh. On all other fronts, Hardy fills this character with ease. He breaks his norm, fits the bill and captures the audience. What more could you ask for? 

Pies & College Tries | Days 35-40

The battle of the assignments is over, and 3/8 exams have come and gone. What does that mean? More revision! Not as exciting as it seems, right? Here's what I've been up to:

A Level History followed me to Uni

Last Essay knocked right out of the park

Reenacting Figlmüller's Viennese schnitzel with Libbi

Only 4 weeks left in this beautiful building

A trip to Pieminister was just what the doc ordered

Didsbury really is a sight for sore eyes

I have noticed that my 100happydays is slowly being overtaken by food, and it doesn't help that I've not had time for the gym for a few weeks. But unhealthy habits aside, with these assignments off my back, I've been able to put some more time into revision and the long awaited Locke review. So keep your eyes peeled - Hardy will be here before the week's out!

AFK and Assignment Overload | Days 27 - 34

Apologies are in order! I've been Away From Keyboard for a little over a week now, but some serious work has been in order. After arriving back in Manchester I realised how little time I had to do a veritable pile of work, so I had to knuckle down and give DormDiary a break. But I've kept up with my happydays, so I'll bring you up to date!

Currywurst at Bierkeller

My new home - Ashburne Library (with a side of Suits)

Staring out at the sun whilst being locked in the library

A post-Easter gift from my sister (gone in 5 minutes!)

The cutest gift ever from Lily - from Cambodia!

A break from study - a lot of laughs

One of my favourite Hopper pieces from May

Nostalgia for last year's travels to Budapest

While I've been seriously at my studies, I've still had time to live [apart from a couple of days spent in the library]. I'm going to be posting my happy days every fourth day for a few weeks - just until I've got a break in exams. Regarding the Locke review, it's in slow progress but it is on it's way - there's no way I'm missing a chance to plaster DormDiary with pictures of Tom Hardy. No way.
Have a good weekend chickens!