Howl's Moving Castle

Hm! Two Howls in a row. I'd been meaning to see this for a while, and I'm glad I did. It's so charming and magical. It's the sort of film that could never get made in the US -- it doesn't make enough sense. But somehow, Japanese fantasy doesn't need to make sense the way American fantasy does -- there's something so much more right-brained about Japanese fantasy -- the world can be dreamlike, and that's okay. It's the characters that make this film -- Sophie, the scarecrow, even the talking fire. Despite the chaos and danger of the story, the film succeeds in creating a place that one would want to visit again and again -- a place that feels safe and comfortable, even when the whole world has gone crazy. And maybe that's what all of us are looking for.