Name:Christiana Ellis
Name:Mike Meitín
Movie Review: Howl's Moving Castle
If you're a regular reader here, then you definitely know that I'm a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki. (If you're not, read this post.) So I've been really looking forward to his latest film:
Howl's Moving Castle.
As I read reviews of it, some of them suggested that, while the animation is glorious to behold, the story itself is a bit overcomplex and murky. So I went in a little wary, but I made the conscious decision to not have specific expectations and to just trust in the film that Miyazaki had prepared for me. (He's one of the few filmmakers who has earned that level of trust for me.)
What's it about? Well, Sophie is a young woman who, convinced that she's too ordinary to be interesting to anyone, mostly keeps to herself. She doesn't even worry about going out alone when rumors suggest that a heart-eating wizard named Howl is in the area, because, as she puts it: "He only does that to pretty girls."
So when she actually runs into him, and he's cute and kind and cool and saves her from some obnoxious soldiers, she's not sure what to think. Unfortunately, his attention inspires jealousy in a nasty character known as the Witch of the Waste, who takes revenge on Sophie by cursing her into the form of an old woman. So stuck in this elderly body, Sophie travels out to the waste, hoping to find someone who can restore her.
So now that I've seen it, I can indeed verify that the animation is glorious. The visual inventiveness, the sheer joy of motion, the character design, everything you see is a delight. (Note: This means you should see it on a big screen if at all possible!)
As for the story, frankly I think those reviews I mentioned above were either being over-critical or they, for whatever reason, just didn't understand what was happening. I'll concede that the story doesn't have the same level of... focus that most of Miyazaki's films have. With most of his films, as complicated as the stories may get, there is a definite objective that the characters are striving for. In this one, that's a little fuzzier. But just as something can be damned with faint praise, I want this film to be glorified with faint criticism.
I loved it. When it comes to comparing it against other films, I'm reminded of a good line from Kill Bill Volume 2. When asked about a Hattori Hanzo sword, Budd comments: "If you're gonna compare a Hanzo sword, you compare it to every other sword ever made... that wasn't made by Hattori Hanzo." In trying to compare it to other Miyazaki films, well, I'll have to see it again to see how it stands up to repeat viewings. But when it comes to comparing it to any other animated film, it stacks up pretty damn well.
Go see it.
P.S. As an interesting bit of synchronicity, I saw this the same day as Batman Begins which stars Christian Bale. He also provides the English-language voice of Howl.
.
Howl's Moving Castle.
As I read reviews of it, some of them suggested that, while the animation is glorious to behold, the story itself is a bit overcomplex and murky. So I went in a little wary, but I made the conscious decision to not have specific expectations and to just trust in the film that Miyazaki had prepared for me. (He's one of the few filmmakers who has earned that level of trust for me.)
What's it about? Well, Sophie is a young woman who, convinced that she's too ordinary to be interesting to anyone, mostly keeps to herself. She doesn't even worry about going out alone when rumors suggest that a heart-eating wizard named Howl is in the area, because, as she puts it: "He only does that to pretty girls."
So when she actually runs into him, and he's cute and kind and cool and saves her from some obnoxious soldiers, she's not sure what to think. Unfortunately, his attention inspires jealousy in a nasty character known as the Witch of the Waste, who takes revenge on Sophie by cursing her into the form of an old woman. So stuck in this elderly body, Sophie travels out to the waste, hoping to find someone who can restore her.
So now that I've seen it, I can indeed verify that the animation is glorious. The visual inventiveness, the sheer joy of motion, the character design, everything you see is a delight. (Note: This means you should see it on a big screen if at all possible!)
As for the story, frankly I think those reviews I mentioned above were either being over-critical or they, for whatever reason, just didn't understand what was happening. I'll concede that the story doesn't have the same level of... focus that most of Miyazaki's films have. With most of his films, as complicated as the stories may get, there is a definite objective that the characters are striving for. In this one, that's a little fuzzier. But just as something can be damned with faint praise, I want this film to be glorified with faint criticism.
I loved it. When it comes to comparing it against other films, I'm reminded of a good line from Kill Bill Volume 2. When asked about a Hattori Hanzo sword, Budd comments: "If you're gonna compare a Hanzo sword, you compare it to every other sword ever made... that wasn't made by Hattori Hanzo." In trying to compare it to other Miyazaki films, well, I'll have to see it again to see how it stands up to repeat viewings. But when it comes to comparing it to any other animated film, it stacks up pretty damn well.
Go see it.
P.S. As an interesting bit of synchronicity, I saw this the same day as Batman Begins which stars Christian Bale. He also provides the English-language voice of Howl.
.
Posted by Christiana on
Sunday June 19, 2005 at 1:16pm
"A Miyazaki movie" won by a landslide.