Another Sterling Work from One of the Greatest Directors

Rating: 10/10 (26 August 2015)

I am so glad John Lasseter is friends with Miyazaki. If he wasn't, we may not have gotten these movies dubbed and formally released stateside. Say what you want about dubs vs subs and blah blah blah, but I often enjoy closing my eyes and immersing myself in movies. And it also allows so many more people to see these movies. And they are movies that deserve to be seen.
Lasseter's efforts here combined the fact that he more or less brought CGI animation to the masses have elevated him in my mind to the position of second most important person and third greatest person in animation to me. If you're wondering, the first list is Disney, Lasseter, Miyazaki and the second is Disney, Miyazaki, Lasseter.
The crazy thing is that I come into these movies expecting to be blown away. Most movies where this is the case, even the ones I adore, like Shawshank and LOTR, are diminished just a bit by this. Not these movies. Every time I see them, they grab my soul and run with it. Part of it is that the movies are such a stark change from American animation in every regard. The tone, the style; it's all different. The closest American animations I've seen to these masterpieces are the old Disney movies, from which Miyazaki took inspiration. But even those are only half as long as these movies and not nearly as epic. The other part of it is that they are just so good.
The images stick in my mind. For example, in the first third of this movie, the main characters go into an underground cave and the crystals react with a medallion that Sheena, one of the leads, is wearing. When they see why, they cut the rocks and it is revealed that there is what is dubbed as aetherium in them. In many other films, it would be a simple, expository scene. In this, it is a stylistic, atmospheric triumph. Scenes like that are littered throughout the movie. And they stick in my mind, as good animation and only good animation can do.
Another, more personal reason why I love Miyazaki films is that I share with him a deep love of aviation. The word Ghibli, the name of the studio, even means 'hot wind blowing in from the Sahara.' It is one of his three trademarks, if you will, the other two being environmental messages and strong female protagonists, two things that are done well and subtly here, to the film's credit. The inclusion of aviation, on the other hand, is not subtle, and I love that about it. In fact, the sky and flight are probably featured more here than in any of his other movies, and that is saying something. For a major part of the movie, they don't even touch the earth.
The flying scenes are all excellent. But I think my favorite is one near the middle of the film at sunset. It is in full color in my mind even as I write this review. Despite being a short scene, it makes you feel like you're in the sky like no other moment in any movie.
It perfectly encapsulates the emotions which come with sunset, flight, and the air itself and mix it together into one bit of atmosphere that is invocative enough to pull your soul from your body, at least for a minute.
The plot and pacing remind me, strangely, of Titanic. Not in any obvious way, but in that they both take a conventional tale and make it feel fresh and new, like you are a little kid hearing it for the first time. The characters are fleshed out well and the writing achieves a balance of making you know who they are without bogging the film down. The score is one of Hisaishi's best, and once again, that is saying something. I would compare the partnership between him and Miyazaki to the one between Williams and Spileberg, but, and I mean no offense to the latter pair, these two are above them. While Williams is a fine composer, I would argue that Hisaishi is one of the best composers of any kind over the last century.
And the artwork? I've already said enough about how pretty this film is. In fact, the sequence of this movie that won me over is an artistic one. The opening credits sequence ( didn't take the film that long) is done in a different style, one that fits the movie like nothing else could and lays the groundwork for the movie ahead. Wow.
This film is centered around the pursuit of a castle in the sky. And while it is stunning, as you know if you have watched this film, it cannot top another castle in the sky: the film itself. It is truly thus; as mystic and potent and artistic as Lapita itself. And unlike the main characters in the film, you don't have to go against a Mark Hamill-led military in order to get to it.