“You make me think humanity’s not a complete waste” – Porco Rosso
Porco Rosso, released in 1992, revolves around the story of an Italian World War I ex-fighter pilot. Porco Rosso was Italy’s ace in the sky, but now lives as a freelance bounty hunter chasing sky-pirates. However, a strange curse has transformed him into a pig…
- It’s humorous
- It’s “a tale of missed opportunities”
- Miyazaki has managed to find a balance between the light-heartedness of the film and the deeper themes
- Despite all the rivalries and sky-pirates that feature in the film – the storyline grounds the film
- There’s a curse involved…
- It’s revealed that Porco Rosso is tragic fairy tale – due to Porco’s curse and the impossible love story he has with Gina
- The characters are loveable
- With this film, you can watch it with the French language track on. It’s an experience to watch Porco Rosso in a romance language because majority of the characters, including the main character, in the movie are Italian
- Joe Hisaishi composed the music. I mean, do you even need another reason?
- Fio breaks gender norms – she’s a mechanic and she’s definitely good at what she does. She’s also a good negotiator, intelligent and knows how stands up for herself
- Miyazaki also puts some more feminism in the movie. As Porco’s regular mechanic’s sons have all migrated (due to The Great Depression), the mechanic uses an all-female team repair the plane
- Porco Rosso is one of the few films directed by Miyazaki in which the historical and geographical settings are clearly defined
