Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Genre: Animation/
Adventure/ Romance/ Fantasy
Runtime: 119
minutes
Year:
2004
Starring: Christian Bale, Jeanne Simmons, Emily Mortimer, Billy Crystal, Blythe
Danner, Lauren Bacall, Josh Hutcherson, Jena Malone
Description: When an
unconfident young woman (Emily Mortimer) is cursed with an old body by a
spiteful witch (Lauren Bacall), her only chance of breaking the spell lies with
a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard (Christian Bale) and his companions
in his legged, walking castle.
Review: Within the field of Japanese animated film or anime there is an enormous
variety of genres, and a dazzling difference in quality. While Foxkids daily
bombards youthful viewers with yet another uninspired Pokémon clone, films from
the renowned Studio Ghibli are screened at prestigious film festivals. Hayao Miyazaki
is considered the master within the anime world, and rightly so. “Howl’s Moving
Castle”, an adaptation of the book by British fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones,
will not achieve a classis status, but is again a wonderful animation.
“Howl’s Moving Castle” is
set in an imaginary Central European kingdom at the beginning of the 20th
century, a fairy tale variant of Austria or Hungary. The worlds of magic and
industry are still intertwined: while people are already moving by steam train
and flying machine, the enigmatic wizard Howl hides his walking castle amidst
the misty mountains. That castle is a true piece of Miyazaki’s art: a giant,
pulsating huddle of metal and wood, held together and propelled by a demonic
force.
The timid young seamstress
Sophie accidentally comes into contact with Howl himself, and is therefore
transformed by his enemy, the Witch of the Waste, into an ancient female. To break
the spell, she sets off in her new form on her way to the mountains: to find
Howl, or another magician who can break her spell.
As an old Sophie finds out
that although her body no longer cooperates, she has suddenly become a lot more
balanced and is no longer surprised by a lot of things. She finds Howl’s castle
and in no time at all makes herself a housekeeper. Together with the little boy
Markl and the fire demon Calcifer, she forms the entourage of the charming but
freaky Howl, who sets off at night to face the advancing war in the region. Little
by little, Sophie finds out what magical powers are at work in the kingdom and what
the alliance between Howl and Calcifer means. And as always with Miyazaki,
hardly anyone is who he seems at first sight.
Another ingredient in every
Miyazaki movie are the wonderful and often funny characters, and in “Howl’s
Moving Castle” too. An absolute favorite is Calcifer, the mighty demon that
sees itself reduced to a cozy fire. He is hilarious and endearing at the same
time. But the contrast withing the main characters is great. Especially Howl
remains a sketchy figure who does not really come to life, even though he is provided
with a complex background story. Why he cares so much about the war and what
all this has to do with his monstrous side, remains in the dark. There are many
elements and characters in the film that are not really well-executed. This makes
the story more obscure. The film loses a bit of logic towards the end.
All this does not alter the
fact that “Howl’s Moving Castle” is still worth watching. It’s not a
masterpiece, like many of Miyazaki’s films are, but it can still easily enchant
an audience with its beautiful animation and images.
Rating: 3,5/
5
