Hayao Miyazaki
Laputa: Castello Nel Cielo

THE REVIEW

“Laputa cannot fall; it will continue to rise because the power of Laputa is humanity's dream.”

A modern fairy tale as only Miyazaki can offer, a spell you can't escape from: once you know it, you can't let it go. His films are the literature of Japanese and world animation cinema, and Laputa: Castle in the Sky is its highest artistic expression (without taking anything away from his other masterpieces). A characteristic of his works is that magical aura that envelops every story, that sense of unreality, like a daydream or when you are aware of dreaming while in a dream (I often had this as a child). And what could be more magical than a city suspended in the sky, a sort of Atlantis in the air. This imaginary place, described by J. Swift in “Gulliver's Travels” (also cited in the film), possesses technology unknown to humans, a technology created by its inhabitants, who then disappeared forever.

Few know its story or rather believe in it; among them is a boy named Pazu who, thanks to a photograph taken by his father, is firmly convinced of its existence. This conviction will become certainty when he meets Sheeta, a girl who descended from the sky, sought by the government and pirates for a particular pendant she wears around her neck. Although not set in a precise period, the story seems to take place in a "hypothetical" industrial era, straddling the 19th and 20th centuries. The backdrop with factories and chimneys of the past is very suggestive, a typical setting of an early 20th-century suburb. All contrasted by things like robots and flying machines, worthy of the best Verne.

Personally curated in every minute detail by the Master, every detail, even the most insignificant, is not left to chance. The precision and meticulous care in the drawings are typical of Studio Ghibli and its founder. In Italy, unfortunately, these films are not widely distributed, and some are real collector's items. In Japan, however, Miyazaki is more famous than Walt Disney (perhaps an inappropriate comparison given the Japanese director's little fondness for the American production company).

Those who say animated films are for children haven't seen this film, or "Spirited Away," or "Princess Mononoke"; and if they still don't change their mind after watching them, they are a fool.

(just joking, of course)