風立ちぬ
"We must live."
The Wind Rises - Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
Le vent se lève!... Il faut tenter de vivre!
— Jiro/Naoko (quoting Paul Valéry)
Context:
First quoted when Jiro and Naoko meet as adults, setting the tone for their relationship and the film's philosophy.
Meaning:
The central mantra of the film: the wind is rising, we must try to live. It signifies the necessity of finding the will to exist and create despite the looming storm.
Airplanes are beautiful, cursed dreams, waiting for the sky to swallow them up.
— Giovanni Caproni
Context:
Spoken to Jiro in a dream to prepare him for the reality of his career.
Meaning:
Articulates the film's core conflict: the inherent tragedy of creation when it is divorced from its ultimate impact on the world.
Which would you choose: a world with pyramids or a world without?
— Giovanni Caproni
Context:
Caproni uses this metaphor to help Jiro justify his pursuit of engineering excellence during wartime.
Meaning:
A rhetorical question asking if the creation of monumental human achievements is worth the suffering and cost required to build them.