Back to DasuArosu's Profile DasuArosu's Profile

In order to actually explain why "Wings of Honneamise" is an absolute cinematic masterpiece I shall have to delve into the main features which it does outstandingly-and those would be the worldbuilding,characterization and themes.

To begin with the worldbuilding,I have to say that the way the setting of this movie is presented and shown makes it look normal and casually everyday,regardless of the fact that it's outlandish and alien in how it looks and cannot be reliably related to any contemporary culture on Earth(except in its' purely human aspects,and its' human goals),thus displaying originality without attempt. Every single little detail is tailored and customized towards showing ... a place that is both different and similar to the one we currently inhabit,and it is all done in a manner that does not vaingloriously attempt to draw the eye,but rather allows it to freely wander about and see what there is to see-and there's a lot to see. In both mechanical,architectural and character design the artists behind this production excel.

The characterization in this movie is done in a similarly careful,subtle and artful manner,letting you realize things about the characters not by their dialogue or even their actions,but by the implications behind said actions and words,that can be seen in many ways and at many angles,all of which equally valid,thus allowing the viewer to again savour the movie at his own pace and discretion,while also making the motion picture incredibly rewatchable due to it.

And the themes...oh boy...Maybe I like the themes so much because they speak to me personally,but in this movie some of the most under-represented struggles of mankind come to light-that of the disillusioned post-modern young man-tormented by expectations he himself has set upon him and never truly able to break out of his own pre-conceived notions of what is success,what is happiness and what is prosperity-all things he seeks to accomplish,but never truly reaches towards,because he is never sure what he is even trying to come to hold-this terrible cycle repeating over and over leaving the person more and more tired and unwilling to go on each time. Shirotsugh Lhadatt is the subtly characterized,plain-looking incarnation of this struggle as his once reasonable ambitions to become a military pilot get turned into soot as he realizes he's not good enough,then realizes he has nothing else to aspire to(and all this before the movie even starts) and yet he has to do something with his life-and so joins the Space Force. The supposed "ascent to greatness" of Shiro is followed throughout the movie,but the absolute genius of Yamaga's writing is that Shiro never recovers from his horrible self-destructive depression at the beginning of the movie,but just tries to push through,despite and in spite of it,just because he knows-not in his heart,but in his mind(for his heart keeps weighing him down) that he has to go on and do his duty to his homeland-that he is finally needed. Yet through this journey he is pursued by the vestiges of his sorrow-in the face of Riquinni Nonderaiko who he knows he should fall in love with and treasure,yet is ultimately bored,repulsed and disgusted by. Who he tries to rape,simply because it's expected of him to advance things romantically with the girl he's met,and that he should like her. Yet inside he's too tired to fall in love. Life has broken him,so he,acting on autopilot tries to force himself onto Riquinni,yet realizes that what he's doing is a pointless motion in a series of pointless motions that his meeting and befriending the girl had been. It would be good to mention Riquinni's religion just simply because it plays to some of the auxiliary themes of the movie-the depersonalization of human beings in post-modern society. Riquinni is shown over and over to preach to people that their disregard for God and their selfishness is what is making society such a miserable place,and while it can clearly be seen that she's fanaticized and not perfectly in her right mind,the selfishness and lack of reverence for higher powers of Honneamise' humanity can be seen over and over in what they do,and can be confirmed by various other characters' actions and words in later and earlier parts of the movie. Shiro in turn is faced with either becoming a part of this humanity or choosing his own path-yet he's incapable of choosing either,and ultimately in the end of the movie fakes a motivational speech,just so he doesn't embarrass himself in front of all mankind.

With that out of the way the movie does have a few minor issues-the first is that the soundtrack is ultimately unmemorable and while well-performed not so well placed and not interesting enough to coin and define parts of the movie with its' presence(which leaves the actual scenes to speak for themselves instead,so it's a fair tradeoff). The other issue this movie has,that ultimately also plays more to its' benefit is that the narrative is not conclusive,not concise and ultimately disjointed-but this plays to make the movie appear more like a real thing that could have happened in a real place,instead of an artifice of pretentious stagecraft. But due to it,one does not enjoy the movie overmuch while watching it-always confused and unsettled by the brisk shifts in tone and theme that alternate wildly and violently,often without immediately noticeable logic,which makes this movie's first watch feel a bit alienating. But then again once the movie is finished one can see all the threads and plot points come together to weave a truly unique picture and show things seldom shown properly and realistically in cinema.