Howl’s Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 2005, 119mins)
Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli have, for many years now, been on the cutting edge of animated entertainment. Less sentimental than Disney and far more daring than Pixar, they have, since the classic Laputa, Castle In The Sky (1986) forged a distinctive place for themselves in the market. After the Oscar winning Spirited Away (2001), it seemed that the West finally embraced Miyazaki and his team and with this latest offering, they will no doubt continue to thrill a whole new audience.
Based on the novel by British born Diana Wynne Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle tells the story of 18 year-old milliner Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer in the English Language version), who manages to get on the wrong side of the powerful Witch Of The Waste and is cursed to live as a 90 year-old woman (voiced by the wonderful Jean Simmons) for all eternity. She meets the powerful wizard Howl (Christian Bale), who is rumoured to steal the hearts of beautiful young girls and who lives in a strange castle that moves across the countryside at any given opportunity. In a desperate search for a cure to her predicament, Sophie ends up living in the castle and working for Howl and his young apprentice as cleaner. Howl, who has given his heart to a fire demon called Calcifer (voiced by Billy Crystal) is incomplete – not only is he without a heart, but he is torn between loyalty for his country, which is at war and has requested his presence on the battlefield, and his own pacifism. His existential angst is only compounded by the fact that the State is on the verge of removing his magical powers if he does not reply for duty.
A more adult tale than Spirited Away, Miyazaki seems to have had contemporary issues on his mind when adapting his latest. The film takes place in a strange “retro future” (reminiscent of the world in Ghibli’s Laputa) in a land that is at war with its neighbours. Although the exact cause of this conflict is never illuminated in the film, it is obvious that a clash of religious or ideological beliefs is the central reason for both countries taking up arms. Miyazaki never delves into the parallels between his story and what is happening in the world, but the similarities are obvious.
Howl’s Moving Castle may have serious and introspective moments, but Miyazaki’s buoyant imagination and visual flair are on full display here. Miyazaki has always managed to thrill at every turn with unexpected or surreal visual treat and this film is no exception. From the opening shot of Sophie sewing plastic fruit onto a hat, to the more surreal moments of Howl at war, the animation is astonishing and just as good as anything that Ghibli has produced in the past.
A treat for young and old.
Review by Barnaby Welch
Based on the novel by British born Diana Wynne Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle tells the story of 18 year-old milliner Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer in the English Language version), who manages to get on the wrong side of the powerful Witch Of The Waste and is cursed to live as a 90 year-old woman (voiced by the wonderful Jean Simmons) for all eternity. She meets the powerful wizard Howl (Christian Bale), who is rumoured to steal the hearts of beautiful young girls and who lives in a strange castle that moves across the countryside at any given opportunity. In a desperate search for a cure to her predicament, Sophie ends up living in the castle and working for Howl and his young apprentice as cleaner. Howl, who has given his heart to a fire demon called Calcifer (voiced by Billy Crystal) is incomplete – not only is he without a heart, but he is torn between loyalty for his country, which is at war and has requested his presence on the battlefield, and his own pacifism. His existential angst is only compounded by the fact that the State is on the verge of removing his magical powers if he does not reply for duty.
A more adult tale than Spirited Away, Miyazaki seems to have had contemporary issues on his mind when adapting his latest. The film takes place in a strange “retro future” (reminiscent of the world in Ghibli’s Laputa) in a land that is at war with its neighbours. Although the exact cause of this conflict is never illuminated in the film, it is obvious that a clash of religious or ideological beliefs is the central reason for both countries taking up arms. Miyazaki never delves into the parallels between his story and what is happening in the world, but the similarities are obvious.
Howl’s Moving Castle may have serious and introspective moments, but Miyazaki’s buoyant imagination and visual flair are on full display here. Miyazaki has always managed to thrill at every turn with unexpected or surreal visual treat and this film is no exception. From the opening shot of Sophie sewing plastic fruit onto a hat, to the more surreal moments of Howl at war, the animation is astonishing and just as good as anything that Ghibli has produced in the past.
A treat for young and old.
Review by Barnaby Welch
posted by Barnaby at 4:38 PM
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