Couldn't Help Noticing

Howl’s Moving Castle

Rating: PG

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Based on the book by Diana Wynne Jones. Also known as Hauru no ugoku shiro.

Japanese language cast: Chieko Baish, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Tatsuya Gashuin, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mitsunori Isaki, Yo Oizumi, Akio Ôtsuka, Daijiro Harada and Haruko Kato.

English language cast: Jean Simmons, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall, Blythe Danner, Emily Mortimer, Josh Hutcherson and Billy Crystal.

Australian release date: 25 June 2005. 119 mins. http://www.howlsmovingcastle.com.au.

Contains scenes which may frighten young children.

Plain young Sophie is a hat-maker who works in the family shop. Shy and retiring, she has never invited the extraordinary. However, when her country is on the brink of war, chance brings her into orbit of the mysterious wizard, Howl, whose moving castle (a towering metal conglomeration on chicken legs, Baba Yaga-style) scours the land and whose reputation as an eater of young girls' hearts is well-established. Howl, who looks and acts like a rock star, extracts Sophie from a rather difficult situation. However, he is being pursued by the Witch of the Waste and his association with Sophie does not go unnoticed. The Witch pays Sophie a visit and casts a spell which turns her into a 90-year-old woman.

This transformation opens the door of opportunity wide. Ashamed of her appearance, unable to tell anyone what has happened (a condition of the spell) and uncertain of what to do, Sophie leaves behind her humble life and flees to the wilderness. Somehow she finds herself a position as cleaning lady in Howl's moving castle and makes a bargain which will eventually enable her to find a way to restore her youth.

This is the 17th film directed by Hayao Miyazaki who won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2002 for Spirited Away. Though Miyzaki has announced and cancelled his retirement several times in the past, he shows no signs of slowing down. Howl's Moving Castle departs at times from the book but still manages to preserve much of the spirit of Diana Wynne Jones' writing—her humour, her imagination (but bringing to it Miyazaki's signature breath-taking visual style) and her intuitive feel for narrative (essentially fairy tale). (Incidentally, if your children love Harry Potter and are looking around for something else of quality to read, it is highly likely they will enjoy also Diana Wynne Jones.) The world of Howl is reminiscent of pre-World War II Europe with quaint little towns, sun-drenched landscapes dotted with hints of industrialisation (steam trains, war ships, fliers, etc.) The soldiers look handsome in their uniforms and the ladies look fine in their hats and gowns. It's quite a contrast to the war scenes where the air is thick with smoke and bombs scatter and fall like rain.

However, this is not just a film about taking responsibility for one's life and growing up into adulthood (90-year-old or otherwise); it also strongly embodies Miyazaki's recurring obsessions with peace and environmentalism. Strong links can be seen between Howl and his earlier Nausicaä Of the Valley Of the Wind (1984) where the princess Nausicaä plays a similar role to Howl—not really taking sides, attempting to save lives but at the same time doing all possible to bring about a resolution to the conflict for the good of the created world. Miyazaki's characters find themselves caught up in the maelstrom of human sinfulness—the senseless war—but long for nothing more than a return to the quiet life—the good and simple life—where a field of wildflowers or cup of tea by a placid lake reflecting the clouds is all one needs to find satisfaction.

Unfortunately for Miyazaki, true and lasting peace cannot come through mere individuals as long as the world remains at war with God. In addition, the beauty of creation is only temporary, and the flip side of its magnificence is its bondage to decay. Only through the Lord Jesus Christ will the ideals that Miyazaki longs for be properly realised. Let us look to him who reigns and not to humanity.

A matter of concern for prayer

Many of our brothers and sisters in the UK are very concerned about the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill which is being considered in the House of Lords later today. They are concerned that the Bill, if passed, will threaten their ability to publicly proclaim the truth of Scripture without risking jail or heavy fines.

So today is crunch day in terms of the progress of the legislation. Please pray for true wisdom for the House of Lords, and that nothing will impair the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ in that nation.

For more information, see: www.religioushatredlaw.info.

Reporting of church business

This morning there is a fascinating contrast of tone and content between the secular (Sydney Morning Herald) reporting of the Archbishop of Sydney's Presidential address to the Sydney Anglican Synod, and the “in house” reporting by the Sydney Anglican web site.

To work out which better reflects the content of the address, you might need to read (or listen to) the complete transcript (which, I must say, is a worthwhile exercise in its own right, for both Anglicans and non-Anglicans alike).

Didn’t understand a thing, but learnt a lot

I was fortunate enough to recently enjoy a holiday on a resort island in Fiji. (I'll spare you the photos.) Fiji is a diverse place, with a mixture of cultures. But Christianity is a significant influence, particularly amongst the native Fijians who tend to be the ones working in the tourist resorts and saying “Bula” to anything that moves.

As it happened, there was a small church building on this island, and so on Sunday evening, in response to the advertising of a Methodist church service which was open to guests, I rolled up at 5.30pm on the dot. As I waited, I pondered on the relevance of some of the accoutrements of the church building: some staff sporting trophies on a shelf in the corner; a lava lamp sitting on the same shelf (a lava lamp???); and some coloured spotlights. Yes, there was definitely something different about this church.

Eventually the service started (5.30pm “Fiji time”), and we were told by the lady up the front that, whilst the service would be conducted in Fijian, she hoped that the Holy Spirit would interpret it to us and we would find some benefit.

I have to say, her hope was fulfilled in many respects. I did find much benefit, even though I understood nothing of what was said. (Actually, that's not entirely true; I worked out that “Jesu” was probably “Jesus” and “Prime Minister” was probably “Prime Minister”—I think I have a gift for languages.)

I learnt something about Fijians and singing. The singing was fantastic—the Fijians seemed to know all the hymns off by heart, and sang in beautiful harmonies and with such power and delicacy. It just seemed so natural to them to express their faith in passionate singing.

But this singing was just one example of the passion that was evident in the Fijian believers. The lady who led the prayers (in Fijian), prayed passionate, extemporary prayers, at a fast and free-flowing pace, for 17 minutes non-stop. (I know it was 17 minutes because one of my family members, who for the time being shall remain nameless, timed it.) Yet it did not seem to be mindless repetetive prayers; it seemed to be hard-work for her to concentrate and lead the congregation in those prayers. Several times she had to wipe her brow because she was working up such a sweat.

She then preached for a similar time in a similar manner, only with more hand guestures. It was passionate, and it was clearly aimed fair and square at the congregation. I understood not a word, yet she delivered the message in such a way that I still felt convicted of my sin.

It all made my comfortable, middle-class church back here in Sydney seem a little staid. The experience reminded me of some of Mike Raiter's challenging final comments in Stirrings of the Soul:

... too many evangelicals have taken shelter under the canopies of personality and culture and, in so doing, have justified a degree of stoicism which may be appropriate for adherents of pagan philosophies, but is quite inappropriate for those who have encountered the living God in the person of his crucified and risen Soon. We are emotional beings and we need to recognize that we, in part, may be contributing to the exodus from evangelicalism by offering people an unbalanced way of responding to the gospel. More seriously still, we may in fact be failing to properly honour and paise our God who has created us to sing and make melody to the Lord in our hearts (Eph 5:19). (p 250)

An excuse to hug your pastor

I'm not sure it is such a big event in Australia*, but in the USA this Sunday (9 October) is “National Clergy Appreciation Day”.

The idea is that you make a special effort to encourage and express your appreciation for your church pastor.

Sounds like a good idea. Shall we give it a try?

(* Hallmark sells a range of thirty-five different NCAD cards in America. I haven't looked in my local card shop or newsagent, but I suspect it might be hard to find one ‘clergy appreciation card’ in Australia, let alone thirty-five.)