MYST Post #2: Howl's Moving Castle

Considering that I am a huge fan of director/animator Hayao Miyazaki's work, it is shocking that it took me this long to watch "Howl's Moving Castle". Loosely based on Diana Wynne Jones' novel of the same name, "Howl's Moving Castle" holds an 84% from top critics on Rotten Tomatoes and was named the best Japanese movie overall at the 2004 Mainichi Film Awards. The film contains all of Miyazaki's talent for creating beautifully-developed characters and a fantastic story, coupled with vibrant animation and Joe Hiyashi's enchanting soundtrack, so I definitely wasn't disappointed.
(Soundtrack, Main Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BioNW_DNlg)

In simplest terms, "Howl's Moving Castle" is metaphorically and literally a love story between Sofie

(Emily Mortimer), a plain-looking young girl who is cursed into the form of an elderly woman (elderly Sofie is voiced by Jean Simmons) by an envious old hag, the Witch of the Waste, and Howl (Christian Bale), a mysterious wizard who lives in a peculiar residence that can walk and fly due to its being magically powered by a fire demon named Calcifer (Billy Crystal). Unable to tell anyone about the spell that she has been put under, Sofie adventures to the hills known as the "Wastes" on the outskirts of her hometown to seek out a solution. She takes refuge in Howl's castle and Calcifer, who is able to see that Sofie has been cursed, agrees to a deal saying that he will help her become young again if she is able to free him of the contract that has bound him and Howl together. During her time with Howl, Sofie is able to help him confront his inner monster, which becomes progressively more physically apparent, as well as discover her own outstanding bravery. Aside from romance, the movie deals with the themes of war, confidence, and age.

The metaphorical love story begins when Sofie, not yet cursed at this point, first meets Howl and they literally walk on air, which visually symbolizes the first feelings of infatuation at the beginning of a relationship. Howl had earlier been described by the girls of the town as handsome and having a disposition to sucking out the souls of young women; a metaphor for a player. When the Witch of the Waste, who seeks Howl's physical heart, appears before Sofie and antagonizes her, the audience is introduced to the "jealous ex-girlfriend" of the story. Sofie, damaged and belittled, ventures out into the desolate Wastes where she encounters Howl's castle, which actually symbolizes Howl himself.

The castle is a slapped-together mess with different faces that moves through the fog to hide itself and carries a substantial amount of baggage, thus making it heavy. It perfectly illustrates the way Howl constantly keeps his true self hidden due to past emotional pain. Once Sofie enters the castle and gains power over Howl's heart, represented by Calcifer, she cleans the place and brings love into Howl's life, showing how he is made into a better person by having Sofie with him. By the end of the movie,

the castle is completely remodeled and freely flies in plain sight since Howl and Sofie fall completely in love and live happily ever after.

The scene that struck me most while viewing the film was the first time in which the audience witnesses Howl participating in the war due to his being summoned by the king. Homes are ablaze below him as he flies and aerial battleships collide with each other; neither side is shown to be winning or losing. Whilst using his magic to fight, Howl takes on the form of a bird-like creature. This can also been seen happening to the other witches and wizards in the battle. They have continuously utilized their magic for evil and warfare, so they have turned into monsters and will never be able to become human again and won't be able to recall ever being human either. This scene serves to critique war, suggesting that all it serves to do is to destroy not only physical things like buildings and bodies, but psyches as well. The witches and wizards slowly turning into monsters and losing their humanity the longer they fight in the war relates to the damages inflicted on soldiers during combat in the real world. After being in a war, a person is often tormented by the events that they witnessed, or, of they have had to kill another human being, feel as if they are evil.

Despite the deeper messages woven into the story, this gorgeous movie is also very humorous. Once Sofie is cursed and begins to acclimate to her elderly form, she acquires a sassiness and confidence that produced quite a few laughs from me. My only critique is that the ending is fairly abrupt and a bit predictable.

I give this movie: 3.9 / 4 stars