#Howls moving castle movie movie#

For the poor civilians, and for the persecuted by the conflict, war is only an inexplicable force against which it is impossible to survive. Throughout the film you donвЂ™t understand the real reason for that war, you donвЂ™t know what is the target of those who attack. For Miyazaki, it was an element that had to be added, for the impact that Iraq war was having on him in those years. If in the book, the war has only a marginal role, whereas the film is rich in sequences of bombardments from which one cannot escape. There are many factors that can change the physical aspect. And on the contrary, the nice aspect of Suliman hides the intentions of a war profiteer. In the same way she trusts what lurks behind Turnip Head appearance. But Sophie trusts what she saw inside him. Howl himself alternates a charming prince look with the forms of the Dark Raven, and you are never sure whether he is a monster or a good character.

Not only Sophie, who behind the old body still hides a young spirit.

#Howls moving castle movie movie#

Only when you are on the same side, you can influence each other.ДЄppearances donвЂ™t matter, what you have inside doesДuring the whole movie there is continuous surprise in discovering that the exterior appearance of the characters does not always coincide with their nature. You canвЂ™t change someoneвЂ™s head if you attack him, if you put the wall of conflict between you and him. If you want to convince those who prevent the Good to flow, you have to get closer. It only takes a few seconds to realize the truth, and the flame is back in SophieвЂ™s hands.

Sophie acts in a surprising way: she hugs the witch, and she prays her on tears, asking to understand, to hand over the heart, because it is necessary. The instinct could be to rip it by force, sure that thatвЂ™s the right thing to do at that moment. Sophie has to take HowlвЂ™s heart from the old womanвЂ™s hands, but she doesnвЂ™t want to let it go. It happens when Howl returns almost dead from the war, while the castle is destroyed and the flame of Calcifer, HowlвЂ™s heart, is extinguished because it is squeezed in the hands of the old witch. There is a scene about the end of the film, short and in fact minor, but beautiful for the message that it launches. You canвЂ™t change whatвЂ™s far away from you Love is a flame that remains constant during every stage of life, and for Miyazaki it becomes the glue between moments of life that are away from each other. And in the movie, we often happen to see Sophie fluctuating halfway between the advanced age (gray hair that no longer go away) and the strength of youth (when her face loses every wrinkle and turns again into a childвЂ™s one): itвЂ™s when her feelings for Howl are stronger. In any case, one thing is sure: when you love, you no longer age. Being old gives you physical ailments, it makes you notice вЂњhow hard it is to moveвЂќ, but it also gives you an astuteness that you donвЂ™t have when youвЂ™re young, and the wisdom of who always knows whatвЂ™s right. Youth and old age are themes always present in the film, from the moment when little Sophie is transformed into an old lady, for a curse that will last the whole vision. IвЂ™m done running away, now that I have something I want to protect. But some scenes later, Howl himself explains his change to Sophie, when she asks him not to fight, to flee from the war: вЂњIвЂ™m sorry. In the second part of the movie, Sophie lists to the Suliman some of HowlвЂ™s character flows, and cowardice is one of them. In the novel Howl is a womanizer, in the movie this trait has been reduced but the protagonist is still a elusive character, who struggles to bind with others, carrying a peculiar selfishness. Universally valid messages, as often oriental art wants to spread, worth remembering from time to time. But one thing that distinguishes MiyazakiвЂ™s Castle from the other films is the strong educational component of the story, which is taken from the novel by Diana Wynne Jones but, through Miyazaki, moves often on different directions, in order to send specific messages. Among the most beloved and successful movies produced by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, HowlвЂ™s Moving Castle sums up many of the elements that the Japanese filmmaker loves: the extreme fantasy, the magic that penetrate reality, the shapes of the imaginary creatures (or even buildings) that overcome the wildest creativity.