Title of the film is taken from the poetic line; “Le vent se lève!… Il faut tenter de vivre! (“The wind rises!… We must try to live!”).” — Paul Valéry, “Le Cimetière Marin” (The Graveyard By The Sea)

Some weeks ago I did a review on Hiyao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2001) and found that it was generally well received.  Well, all except for a handful who called me a basement-dwelling sperg.  Anime, animation broadly, is only incidental to Miyazaki’s way of telling stories and if you can get around that it’s some of the best storytelling out there.  I’ve described Miyazaki’s movies as lighthearted and whimsical, but The Wind Rises (2015) is not one of...