Beauty and the beast

Rating: 8/10 (9 July 2010)

I saw this movie once more, an for its benefit I must say that it grows on me every time I see it! For a brief summary of the plot, Howl is a young yet powerful wizard who is very sought after by girls infatuated with him and by the King that wants to recruit his services to the ensuing war. Sophie, a young girl working at a hat store, is cursed by a witch that turns her in to an old woman. As she wonders out of town she ends up working as a cleaning lady in the moving castle where Howl roams about in the countryside, escaping the frantic of civilization. There she meets a fire demon that recognizes her spell and tells her of a mysterious spell that links him with Howl. Howl's moving castle is a touching love story and fantasy fable all rolled in to one. Of course, Myiazaki's trademarks (and Ghibli's production values) are very much present here. The painted landscapes are just breathtaking, among Myiazaki's best drawings. In deed the fictitious country where the movie takes place, that could very well by from turn of the century Europe, has much of nature depicted through these landscapes as of civilization and technology starting to boom from its cradle. Here magic and wizards are a part of society and the front line on the upcoming war with the neighboring country. War, civilization opposed to nature, the difficulties of growing up, all of these are usual themes in much of Myiazaki's work and are here presented in a way reminiscent of some of Disney's nineties classics. Another interesting fact, also common to many of the director's movies, is that some key elements from the story are suggested radder than explicitly presented, allowing you to sink in with every new viewing and reevaluating it's relevance in the Japonese master's work. A truly wonderful experience, that only a handful of directors know how to do. Despite it's inevitable similarities and comparisons with other Myiazaki movies (which tend to arouse criticism), Howl's moving castle is, first a foremost, a beautiful love story!