Miyazaki's "Porco Rosso"

When I moved to Portland late last spring, the Northwest Film Center (sort of an IFS analog) showed a retrospective of Studio Ghibli’s works, most of which were directed by Hayao Miyazaki. (Miyazaki was one of the founders of Studio Ghibli). Hidden among the Miyazaki heavyweights like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away was Porco Rosso, which centers around a 1920s seaplane pilot who fights air pirates in the Adriatic. Who, at some point, also happened to be cursed and turned into a pig.

This is anime, so okay, sure!

Porco Rosso became my favorite of the entire retrospective, which surprised me. It tends to be quiet and moody, lingering on the sadness of lost love and eras long-gone (and in fact, that never were). But the flying sequences are exhilarating. Miyazaki is an airplane buff, and his love of flight (especially early airplanes) comes through in the attention to detail and breathtaking flight choreography. He communicates the joy of flying on a purely emotional level like no other movie I've ever seen.

It tends to be a bit silly and formulaic (the air pirates don’t really want to hurt anyone!), but it’s an amazing ride. Do yourself a favor and see it at least on Blu-Ray, on the biggest screen you can find. With a high-end sound system. That’s the way Miyazaki wanted you to see it, and by God he’s right.