The Wind Rises

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Japanese animation wizard Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Ponyo) serves up more of his unique brand of visual storytelling that refuses to strip away art for the sake of dumbing down the content to cater to younger audiences with The Wind Rises. Going one key step further, Rises explores biographical subject matter — the life of Jiro Horikoshi (voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who was responsible for the designs of Japanese fighter planes during World War II. Horikoshi’s unlikely tale includes his inability to fly (he was nearsighted) and his experiences in several significant historical events (the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression and the tuberculosis epidemic) all before Japan entered the Second World War. Opens Feb. 28 at Esquire Theatre. (PG-13) Not screened in time for review