TBD | A pig flies around the Adriatic between world wars. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki Starring Shuichiro Moriyama, Akio Otsuka, and Akemi Okamura Review by Jon Kissel |
The plot of Porco Rosso is not trying very hard. Most other Ghibli or Miyazaki films have several fleshed-out characters working at cross-purposes, all while creating a world that conveys history and depth. Here, Miyazaki is working with tropes. Plucky teen girl, dashing but vain antagonist, loner hero who can’t help stop himself from rejoining society, pining love interest who waits by the window. The setting, between world wars in a dark but perversely optimistic time for Italy, should be more compelling than it is, but everyone’s in a farce where incompetence rules the day and there’s never any sense of danger. It’s expected that the film wouldn’t explain why Porco is a pig instead of Marco the human, as Miyazaki always prefers to leaves things mysterious and ethereal, but that’s the only bit of magic in a world that doesn’t seem that surprised that a pig is doing loop-de-loops in his bright red turbo prop. It doesn’t even come across what thematic point is being made with Porco. He’s not ostracized or treated like a monster or a curiosity; he’s just a clever bit of cover art.
However, Miyazaki doesn’t have it in him to make a bad film, and like so much of his filmography, it’s the small things that make the difference. This ostensibly more mature film begins with a hilarious sequence of hostage taking gone wrong, as a pirate gang is ill-equipped to handle a dozen girls who can’t be bothered to be afraid of them. The air combat is impressive, befitting a director who has flight on his mind. No Ghibli movie would be complete without a moment of transcendent beauty, and Porco Rosso supplies with its vision of dead pilots ascending together to heaven. The film spaces these grace notes and funny sequences out such that even if the story isn’t working, there’s enough here to keep the viewer afloat.
Porco Rosso is near, if not at the bottom of Miyazaki’s filmography. This is a film that I could not find the nugget of inspiration in, other than a desire on the part of Miyazaki to make a relatively straightforward film about planes and pilots. He’ll revisit this time period with The Wind Rises, a film that feels far more magical despite taking place in a magic-free world. Even the greats need a dry run before liftoff. C+