aulus7 Reviews

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Not quite perfection, but very close...

[9/10 · 29 March 2006]

The critics were not too kind to this latest offering from Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, so I wasn't expecting too much. The critics were wrong (what a surprise!), this is well up to the standard we expect from Miyazaki Sensei; I watched it (the DVD that is) over and over, just can't get enough of it....

The animation is excellent, a welcome return to the standard we expect from Studio Ghibli after the unfortunate "The Cat Returns" (which was not directed by Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahati). On the DVD version I have there is a feature on the use of CG; it is incredible the lengths they take to match the CG and hand-drawn animation together - well worth watching! Although I prefer to watch films in their original language, the English dub is very good, I particularly liked the casting for Sophie (Emily Mortimer for young Sophie and Jean Simmons for old Sophie), their very precise enunciation suited the character exactly.

The film departs substantially from Dianne Wynne Jones' book, but if she doesn't mind (and she doesn't seem to) then it's OK with me too...

Only Yesterday (1991)

A work of art

[9/10 · 4 May 2005]

This is a very gentle and beautiful film, which could have been done as a 'normal' film with live actors, but it wouldn't have worked one-tenth as well; somehow doing it as an animation allows us to explore the characters much better.

It tells the story of Taeko, a 27 year old Tokyo office worker who goes to spend a few days in the countryside. She is at a stage where she is starting to question her life, and is haunted by memories of her 10th year.

One thing that stands out is that there is no great drama, the pace of the film is almost humdrum, the whole emphasis is on the development of the characters: this of course means that it will not be to everyone's taste.