Primary Emotions/Themes: Curiosity, self reflection, overcoming adversity
Thoughts: Come with me as we fly through the clouds on a mechanical bird. Come with me as we wander the wastes in a moving castle powered by a living flame. Come with me as we follow the story of a young woman who is cursed by a witch. Come with me as we explore the fantastical world of Howl's Moving Castle.
There are many movies that Studio Ghibli have put their stamp on. They range from good to excellent to a masterwork of story telling. Howl's Moving Castle borders on masterwork for me. The movie embraces the fantastical world and mixes it with a bit of steampunk and creates a wonderful fusion of technology and magic.
The world is whimsical with a few darker notes to it, and Joe Hisaishi's score reflects that perfectly. The main theme of the movie is a wonderful waltz, it's flowing, whimsical, and beautiful all at the same time. It carries the soul of the movie with it.
The waltz acts as the main pillar for a majority of the music in the soundtrack. Dark moments, lighter moments, contemplative, and even the hopeless moments towards the end of the film. The waltz morphs itself to fit whatever mood is required for the scene. Hisaishi's ability to create a melody and then morph it to whatever context is needed is rare and damn near perfect.
Of course there is more to this score than just the Waltz. There are moments where the music is tense, where it is light hearted, and sad. All this without the use of the main theme. That said, these moments act more as a side piece for the score and fill in the needed gaps before we are returned to that familiar melody once again.
Howl's Moving Castle is a slow movie. It doesn't concern itself with putting a new plot point forward every few seconds. It takes it's time. It spends five minutes on a cooking scene that adds little to nothing to the plot... but it builds the world and the characters. It establishes relationships between the motley crew that inhabit the castle. In the same way the music builds the world with its interwoven themes. The two compliment each other perfectly, as one would expect from the duo of Joe Hasashi and Hayao Miyazaki.
Written October 30 2023
No comments:
Post a Comment