Beautiful

Rating: 9/10 (19 February 2015)

Howl's moving castle.
Hayao Miyazaki is truly in a league of his own. His fantasy, tedious attention to details, unpredictable and gripping style all make his work stand out. And what I mean by stand out is that it really captivates you, every scene makes you demand for more and at the same time wonder how could one think of something this surreal. Yet, no matter how surreal, vivid, and sometimes outright ridiculous Miyazaki might seem at times, his work is still full of valuable lessons, meaningful comparisons and fairy tale-like emotions. Howl's moving castle is no different.
Our antagonist is a hat maker Sophie, who, due to a spell had been turned into an old woman, and a brave young wizard named Howl, who constantly spends his time in a constantly moving castle, powered by a quirky little ball of fire named Calcifer, who itself is a part of Howl's heart. Howl's moving castle takes us on a beautiful, thrilling and breathtaking journey that introduces us to some of the funniest and bizarre characters a viewer would expect to see. All the characters however are there for a reason and each little story, from Sophie helping the witch that cast the spell on her to Howl constantly running away from his problems, are there to teach us a lesson. But not in the kind of a way Madagascar or Ice Age would. Miyazaki really forces us to think and come to our own conclusions. I think this is the essence of all truly great films – everyone takes lessons of their own out of them.
Howl's moving castle, like most Moyazaki's films, is a true work of art. The plot is thrilling, unpredictable, subtly funny and remarkably original. The animations are stunning. The details in every scene will leave you dazzled and amazed, to say the least. The classical music soundtrack, that is constantly fading in and out is perfectly in tune with the beautiful style and scenery.
Yet again, Hayao Miyazaki manages to raise the bar on what true animation and story telling is really about. A near perfect film.