This may be one of Miyazaki’s lightest films, but that line alone carries the weight of an entire career. —DE
It’s no accident that “Porco Rosso” is set at the height of the interwar period, the film’s hyper-fluid animation and general air of frivolity shadowed by the looming specter of fascism and a deep sense of future nostalgia for all that would be forfeited to it. But there’s also such a rich vein of fun to it — this is a movie that feels as breezy and ecstatic as flying a Ghibli plane through a clear summer afternoon (or at least as ecstatic as it makes that seem). That joy always comes back to the devil may care Porco himself, a surly loner who’s part Rick Blaine, part Giancarlo Giannani, and entirely wanted by the Italian government for “treason, decadence, pornography, and being a filthy pig.” Which leads to Porco’s unforgettable response: “I’d rather be a pig than a fascist.” This may be one of Miyazaki’s lightest films, but that line alone carries the weight of an entire career. —DE