A Fantastic Film Worth Every Moment

Rating: 10/10 (30 June 2006)

I have to admit to being swayed by the jacket covers for DVD's and the marketing material used to promote movies. So when I saw Howl's Moving Castle and one of the characters (Howl) as a half-human, half-blue beast, I immediately thought, "Eww, that's weird. What in the world were they thinking?" Even though it is by Miyazaki, I have to admit that bias/immaturity on my own part.
So I stayed away from the film for quite some time. (I've also noticed a pattern: I tend to stay away from the best films out there for the most stupid, shallow reasons only to be later blown away by how good they were.)
So eventually I managed to rent this film. I do not even know why it got on my Netflix list. But I saw it. And I was hooked. I watched it once, twice, three times, okay, I stopped at five times because I had to return it or incur the wrath of my girlfriend. But there were several moments throughout the film that really touched me and I was so moved by Emily Mortimer's rendition of Sophie's emotions that it left me perfectly spellbound by the end of the film.
"Okay, I'll just watch one more scene..." (I also realized you probably can not do this, because pretty soon if you start at any part of the movie chances are you will continue watching until the credits...)
Okay, the review: It's a spellbinding film. A bit unconventional by Western standards, but definitely a movie that takes the audience on an adventure (which is rather refreshing if you consider how many movies promise adventure and give you recycled material today). This film is very endearing as all the characters feel real. Miyazaki excels in creating humorous characters and situations, developing a very warm view of life and everyone in it. The story is sometimes slow, but overall it feels honest and original which is saying a lot in today's cinema.
Definitely worth renting at the DVD store, or, if you can, watching it on the big screen.