Howl's Moving Castle
Incredible Daughter #3 and I saw Howl's Moving Castle last night, the latest film by Japanese anime artist/director Hayao Miyazaki. We're great fans of his Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away, a film that is much like Howl, only better.
Seeing a Miyazki film is a treat for the senses. The art of the animation, the beauty of the score and the reality-slipaway of the plot are like nothing you'll find in American animation ... or film, for that matter.
Like Spirited, Howl's is the story of a young girl who finds herself suddenly in the spirit world, and must also find her inner strength, courage and love to be victorious over her altered, and threatening, circumstances. It's a good plot line for kids, all in all, but ...
Miyazki's world is an ancient one that used to rule the globe, and still exists in the world today, a world ruled by belief in spirits and demons, a theology of fear. In Howl's, the heroine Sophie has no control over her destiny. That's controlled by spirits that are, for the most part, dark and evil ... or in danger of becoming so. She's a good girl, respectful, hard-working, moral, but is suddenly under spells, in danger and seeking love and relief from a magical spirit-man.
I'll give the movie a B+ simply because it's not as strong as Spirited, but I'll recommend both to Christians who are interested in what our faith confronts in places far away, like Africa or Southeast Asia, or near, like Hawaii. In these places, the spirit world is alive and very much in contact with the human world, and those who take the Word there often report things that sound incredible to we who live in a world largely devoid of dark spirituality.
It's not Miyazki's intent to give us a window onto this world, but he does, and it adds an interesting layer over his remarkable work. I wonder what would happen to his stories if he were to become a believer.
Seeing a Miyazki film is a treat for the senses. The art of the animation, the beauty of the score and the reality-slipaway of the plot are like nothing you'll find in American animation ... or film, for that matter.
Like Spirited, Howl's is the story of a young girl who finds herself suddenly in the spirit world, and must also find her inner strength, courage and love to be victorious over her altered, and threatening, circumstances. It's a good plot line for kids, all in all, but ...
Miyazki's world is an ancient one that used to rule the globe, and still exists in the world today, a world ruled by belief in spirits and demons, a theology of fear. In Howl's, the heroine Sophie has no control over her destiny. That's controlled by spirits that are, for the most part, dark and evil ... or in danger of becoming so. She's a good girl, respectful, hard-working, moral, but is suddenly under spells, in danger and seeking love and relief from a magical spirit-man.
I'll give the movie a B+ simply because it's not as strong as Spirited, but I'll recommend both to Christians who are interested in what our faith confronts in places far away, like Africa or Southeast Asia, or near, like Hawaii. In these places, the spirit world is alive and very much in contact with the human world, and those who take the Word there often report things that sound incredible to we who live in a world largely devoid of dark spirituality.
It's not Miyazki's intent to give us a window onto this world, but he does, and it adds an interesting layer over his remarkable work. I wonder what would happen to his stories if he were to become a believer.
posted by Laer at 5:37 AM
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