I first saw “Wings of Honneamise” sometime in the late 1990’s while at UT-Austin. I remembered being quite impressed with it at the time, and on a recent re-watch, I think it held up quite well.
This Japanese animation movie takes place on a planet inhabited by human beings, but with a different history, culture, and geography. The technology is more primitive, but equivalent to where we might have been in the 1950’s. (Although they do not appear to have developed the atomic bomb or nuclear power.)
The story revolves around a young man, Shirotsugh, who is a “washout” from the Navy. He dreamed of being a pilot, but didn’t have the grades for it. Instead he joined the “Space Force”, which is little more than a bunch of old Engineers who hope to someday put a human being in orbit, but operate on a shoe string government budget. So far, they have had little success, and have killed more than one astronaut.
The young man isn’t very motivated at the beginning. Morale in the Space Force is quite low. Then, he befriends a young woman, Riquinni, who is handing out religious material. After that, he becomes motivated, and volunteers to be the first man launched into space. His friends in the Space Force think he’s lost his mind. (The implication is that they’ve tried this before, and the previous astronauts did not make it.)
A lot of the story focuses on Shirotsugh’s relationship with Riquinni, the religious girl. It’s implied that he finds purpose after meeting her, either because of her religious belief, or because he’s in love. (Or both.) Their relationship illustrates the overall theme of the story, which concerns the concepts of “meaning” and “purpose”. He finds purpose both through his relationship with Riquinni, and also in preparing for his launch into space.
The story’s theme is more about asking questions about meaning and purpose in life, and then sort of presenting various possibilities. Yes, I don’t agree with Riquinni’s answer of religion, but the creators of this movie recognize that religion, throughout all of human history, has been an attempt to answer these questions. So, that viewpoint on “meaning” is presented with that character. The character of the astronaut, Shirotsugh, presents an alternative explanation for “meaning”, which is more along the lines of “life is for the living”, although he himself appears to be somewhat religious, especially after meeting Riquinni. Shirotsugh stands more for the position that we find “meaning” in life through creation, by exploring the unknown, and by falling in love. (His religiosity seems more driven by his love for Riquinni.)
Two other things really make this movie stand out, in my opinion. First, the setting is very “well-built”. Science fiction often revolves around a strange and fantastic setting, and the creators of this movie got it right. The characters live in a very realistic world, with a distinct politics and culture. The architecture and technology has a “steam punk” feel, and by the end of the movie, you have a very good understanding of the people inhabiting this universe.
The second thing that stands out for me is that it’s a space movie, but almost all of it takes place on “Earth” (or whatever planet this is). I think a lot of people who try to do realistic space movies get it wrong. The really interesting part isn’t the rocket launch, its the people who make the rocket launch possible. By focusing on what happens before the launch, when the rocket finally lifted off, enough dramatic tension had been built up by the social and political events around the takeoff to give me goosebumps.
You can find Wings of Honnêamise for rent on Apple iTunes as: “Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise” If you’re running out of stuff to watch during the COVID-19 quarantine, you might give this a try. It’s quite an uplifting movie.
