Part of Hayao Miyazaki: The Art of Optimism (Dir. #6)

In 2001, Miyazaki's production company, Studio Ghibli, attained the rights to adapt Diana Wynne Jones’ novel "Howl’s Moving Castle" and, in an unusual arrangement, a director outside of the Ghibli family, Mamoru Hosoda, was chosen to direct the film. A year later, Hosoda quietly left the project because, as it was later reported, he failed to come up with a concept “satisfactory to his Studio Ghibli bosses.” The project sat in stasis until Miyazaki eventually took the helm. Here in lies the problem with “Howl’s Moving Castle” and the probable reasons why it pails compared to his other works: this is not Miyazaki’s original material, nor was it material he desired to direct in the first place.

'Howl's' is set in an alternate past, somewhere in Europe. A young girl, Sophie, works tirelessly in a hat shop as an obligation to her late father. Her life is dull and uneventful – until one day, when she has a chance meeting with the mysterious wizard Howl, who is said to eat the hearts of young women. Her brief stroll with the wizard leaves Sophie’s heart a flutter, but the encounter sends the Wicked Witch of the Wastes – also in love with Howl – into a fit of jealousy. The witch, a buxom woman with a neck that oozes from her head out onto her lightbulb-shaped torso, casts a spell on Sophie, turning her into an old woman. Sophie decides she has no choice but to wander off into the Wastes, the land of wizards and witches, in search for a cure. It's here where the old but spritely Sophie unearths a scarecrow, dubbed Turnip Head, and is reunited with Howl as a castaway in his moving castle.

The structure is as mysterious on the inside as it is from the outside: it has a magic door that can open to four different places at any given time and it's home to Howl’s apprentice Markl, as well as Howl’s dutiful fire demon Calcifer, who fuels the fortress. The place is also a mess, so Sophie promptly appoints herself cleaning lady. Meanwhile, the war that is building outside the Wastes threatens to envelop everyone – including Howl. As a pacifist, Howl refuses to use his magic to fight for the King, but finds himself pulled in to protect Sophie. The longer Howl fights in the war in the form of a demon bird, the more likely he is to lose his ability to be human. And so Sophie, Calcifer, Markl and Turnip Head must find a way to save Howl or they too might be doomed as well.

Love and war are not such strange bedfellows, but, in “Howl’s Moving Castle,” Miyazaki never convinces us that the war is immanent nor that the central love affair is credible. Although Miyazaki has imbued the film with his characteristic visual artistry, the story is haphazard and the characters are never really fleshed out enough to garner any sympathy. Unlike his other films, the combination of fantasy, action, drama and romance in ‘Howl’s’ fails to gel because Miyazaki only half-heartedly commits to each.

The film opens beautifully, with the amazing moving castle plying a pastoral landscape above a quaint village, as the fashions and the architecture hint at the time and place, and the presence of the military implies the build-up to war. But, just as quickly, the film moves on – we're introduced to the disconcerting Howl and Witch of the Wastes, leaving all subtlety behind in a matter of minutes. It's obvious the film is trying to cover too much ground in too little time, and this causes problems when it comes to Sophie’s characterization: her personality only manifests after she becomes cursed, and yet we're supposed to be emotionally invested in the younger Sophie.

The most appealing character in the film is the bouncing but silent Turnip Head, whose personality is built right into his character design: unflappable and cheerfully clenching his corncob pipe, his simplicity is his brilliance. Of course, there's more to Turnip Head than meets the eye, and, like all the other characters, he too is burdened by a curse. But it's Howl's personality that's most frustratingly undefinable: he is by turns vain and cowardly, brave and hopeless, which makes Sophie's predetermined love for him that much harder to comprehend – he's just too much of a prima donna. There is, of course, an explanation for his adolescent behavior, but this comes way too late in the film to entirely reverse our feelings about his character.

High expectations can create great disappointments, and “Howl’s Moving Castle” is hampered by being a mediocre film from a great director. Still, the film has no shortage of inspiring visuals, one of its most memorable involving the ironically named ‘Wastes,’ the landscape where Howl’s castle roams, which is studded with snow capped mountains and grassy knolls. During one of Sophie’s cleaning fits, she opens a window to get some air and notices that the castle is moving along a ridge above a beautiful river. Calcifer rests the castle alongside a glacial lake and Sophie, Markl and Turnip Head go about drying the clothes. Sophie takes a spot down by the lake and when Markl comes to fetch her, she says, “When you’re old, all you want to do is stare at the scenery. It’s so strange – I’ve never felt so peaceful before.” It’s a pictorial oasis and among ‘Howl’s’ jumble of magic, war and romance, we can’t help but want to soak in the scene with Sophie.

Last word:

“Howl’s Moving Castle” throws way too many irons into the fire and fails to craft a memorable story. However, Miyazaki continues to stimulate our imagination with his indelible craft.

Review By:
Kathie Smith, Staff Writer

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