Howl's Moving Castle

Hayao Miyazaki's fountains of imagination have always been built on a foundation of principled values and stimulating ideas embodied in carefully crafted characters. In one of his most celebrated works, characteristically unfolding in the opulent fantasy world of sorcerers, he develops a subtle romance and a sensitive meditation on the truth that appearance is not everything.

Miyazaki's adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones's fantasy novel for young readers takes place in a world full of magic and steampunk technology, yet also chaos, ambiguity, and contrasts. Modest hat-maker Sophie is cursed by a capricious witch and transformed into an old woman. She finds refuge in the bizarre walking castle of the renowned sorcerer Howl, where she meets the fire demon Calcifer and a small boy named Markl. While the generous and handsome Howl regularly ventures out on nocturnal expeditions from which he returns exhausted and drained, Sophie admits to herself that something more than just a curse keeps her in this strange dwelling.

On one hand, Miyazaki enchants audiences with baroque opulence and lavish scenes; on the other, he slowly unveils the layers that conceal the true nature of his characters. To this day, one of the most commercially successful Japanese films of all time explores appearance and surface that mask the true essence of people and things. But above all, it tells the story of the power of love that helps overcome any obstacle.