Movie Review
“Laputa: The Castle in the Sky” became the first animation film produced on Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata’s “Studio Ghibli”. Maybe it is because of the success of the given movie “Ghibli” became a synonym of a high-quality feature animation for many years ahead. Produced in distant 1986 the movie has not been forgotten until today. Is it because of the bright plot of genius writer and director Hayao Miyazaki or memorable music theme of a wonderful composer Joe Hisaishi, but “The Castle in the Sky” even nowadays continues to amaze the audience with its romantic kindness, taking them to the magic castles of childhood dreams.
High in the sky the silence of the night is disturbed by a sound of small pirates’ ships. They are trying to catch huge full-speed passenger liner, where near the window sits small dark-hair girl with sad sight, who is carefully watched over by a man in a black suit. Soon the girl notices something. It is an old wide-smiling woman with a big nose on some weird aircraft getting closer to the ship. She is the mother of pirates. Soon the old woman and her team break into the airship and the battle between them and the crew as well as men in the uniform starts. Meanwhile the girl is looking for her way out. She finds and empty bottle and raises it above the head of her capturer
The pirates are almost at her cabin. The girl puts an amulet that she took from the man on her neck and opens the window. When the pirates break into the room they see unconscious man and open window. They realize what happened and try to reach the girl who is already on the other side of the ship. Suddenly, her feet slips and she falls into the abyss
This is how this wonderful story begins. Looking ahead I would like to assure you that it has a happy ending; well, happy for those who deserve it. In between, the audience can enjoy many sincere and touching scenes, such as sleeping boy Pazu with an open book nearby and later him letting doves out and playing for them on trumpet, or when the girl, whose name is Sheeta by the way, finds the photo of the floating island made by Pazu’s father. Such as when uncle Pom shows the kids a mysterious stone in a cave and the ceiling of the cave looks like a starry sky, or the episode when pirates who are not children’s enemies anymore help Sheeta to cook the dinner and fight for her attention in the meanwhile.
One of my favorites is the scene when Pazu and Sheeta carry the watch over the clouds and later, passing through the whirlwind Pazu sees the ghost of his father. Then after that we see a fantastic picture of a mysterious island, a childhood dream. Finally, all of this is concluded with an episode of Sheeta and Pazu’s rescue from crumbling castle and heartwarming farewell with the pirates.
All in all, everything is combined in “Castle in the Sky” in a very harmonious way. There are moments of rest, friendly conversations, jokes and laughter. At the same time there is also action; the plot develops rapidly from the very first minute. Still, I believe the most important is that there is a dream that becomes a reality, a mystery that comes true. Each of us can associate with the main characters and feel the spirit of triumph and excitement together with them.
Special attention should be paid to the development of relationship between the hero and heroine. It starts in a very friendly and funny way. You get a feeling that Pazu and Sheeta know each other for a very long time. Quite soon though the audience can understand that their relationship is far more than that, it gets also a romantic accent. Moreover, it is exciting to observe how they are ready to sacrifice their lives for each other.
There was not even a second during watching the movie that I was bored or could take my eyes from the screen. First of all, the heroes; their characters are developed so carefully and persuasively. Even secondary characters, like uncle Pom whom Sheeta and Pazu meet in the caves, and the pirates with their Mother-Boss are very bright and memorable, and in addition, highlighted with good-natured humor. Second, the atmosphere of this alternative world: beautiful and mysterious island Laputa together with technological progress in shape of airships and other various flying facilities. Though at the same time there are tanks and guns, heartless military and ruthless Muska striving to rule over the world. This is far not an imaginary problem. We hear about it every day on TV as it really threatens the existence of all alive on the Earth. This is where the harsh reality intrudes into a sweet tale.
The idea of “Castle in the Sky” is too wide to put it into the boundaries of one theme, either political or psychological or adventurous. This film is complex and many-sided like life itself. Especially highlighted is the ecological aspect, which could be also noticed in other Miyazaki’s works. It makes you think over the question “what is more important, technology created by men or nature and the roots of mankind”? The answer is quite clear here. Of course, this doesn’t mean we have to destroy all our devices which we are so accustomed to, but to use the technology for cruel purposes, like Muska did it, is not acceptable. Interesting also that main villain is depicted as a good-looking soigné young man in a beautiful suit while his actions are totally disgusting. Unfortunately, this we can see quite often in the real life as well.
All in all, I loved the movie. It is surprisingly simple and deep at the same time. You can choose whether to watch it as a fairy-tale for children or as a philosophical work with a striking message. In any case, to my mind it is worth watching for any person of any age.
