Howl's Moving Castle

ghibli already got my whole heart but there is for sure a special place for this one.  like every movie from this studio it’s obviously so beautiful and it also has so much layers. i really really really love the moment where calcifer and hauru (howl) talk and they say that: « - Those wizards are going to regret doing that. They'll never change back into humans. - After the war, they won't recall they ever were human. ». i think it emphasizes SO MUCH of what this movie is trying to convey all along.  first, i know that the place of the war is something that is highly criticized in this movie because we don’t get any reason behind it, it doesn’t make sense. but i think it’s literally what’s important here: war never makes sense. Sure it can be explained, there must be something about its origin but, really, does it matter ? can a reason be enough to start a war ? does the people fighting all know the meaning behind all this blood or even care about it anyway ? there is no winner or loser, everybody’s losing. like everyone i love hauru, but something i don’t see being pointed that often about his character is that, sure he is a maniac who’s self-obsessed and arrogant but that’s why he is so touching. he is so human. hauru had to LITERALLY leave his heart at home in order to be the monster he needed to be to fight in the war. he is the perfect example of having no reason to fight in this war, he just has to but it’s slowly swallowing him. he doesn’t want to take part in this massacre. he tried and still tries to escape from this endless circle of death and destruction that he can’t control and is qualified as a coward for it. he is powerful and fighting is his said duty. this is designated as what should be his reason, but really, it is anything but that. in the previous quote, calcifer warns him that if he keeps going and fighting he will turn completely into a monster and will no longer be human, just like the others wizards who sold their hearts and souls to the king. his heart will die out. this warning is coming from his own heart, this is so important to realize.  what prevented it from happening is sofie, she kept him human. whereas i personally don’t especially like her character, i can’t deny her huge impact. toward the end, we can see how hauru seems to enjoy killing for her when we see the appearance he takes attacking the airships, his most monstrous form. however, he manages to remain human as well. it's like he integrated the two parts of himself now that he has something he wants to fight for with all his heart. he's no longer in danger of being destroyed by his own power and violence since he doesn’t need to tore his heart apart anymore.  that’s what matters in the movie. hauru found a meaning within himself. the war could never be a reason by itself, it’s only outside of it that you can put any sort of sense that will preserve you from losing your humanity in this madness. i also recently realized how significant it is that hauru gave up his heart when he was just a kid. the boy who swallowed a star lost the last remains of his spring of youth on the very same day due to how many responsibilities came with being a powerful sorcerer. the same duty we know he still hates and we can only understand better why he would. they literally stole his childhood by putting the world’s fate on his young shoulders. he ended up the most at peace when everyone thought he was evil, a heartless man. he could hide behind it and therefore, most people would finally leave him alone and not expect anything from him. « A heart is a heavy burden », how accurate this statement is concerning hauru’s story. he wanted to be free like this star he catched named calcifer. he was incapable to let it go, incapable to let it die like all stars do at some point. unlike the others wizards, he didn’t give his heart to the king, he gave it to calcifer. he was ready to sacrifice his own heart to only feel a glimpse of this fallen star freedom, changing both of their fate. hauru desired to be released from the burden of being human, the heart beating in his chest preventing him to be what others expected him to be. it’s only years later, when he got his heart back, that he realized that this burden, as he called it, was the only one worth bearing since he could in fact hold onto it.  end to end, he was willing to be heartless to be free but only trapped himself more since his heart was precisely the key of it all. to me, the most important message hauru’s character conveys is that we need to take care of our hearts. it’s one of the most simple but important message to be delivered. we chase things and our heart is the collateral damage, this is something we can all relate to. like hauru did, we should stop trying to catch something that really is just a mirage most of the time, we already have everything we need inside of us. a very cheesy message, i agree, but filled with hope and delivered in the most beautiful way. i love the contrast between the harshness of the war and the tenderness of the heart. i love that they make so much sense when put together. i love that this movie can seem so complicated and pointless at first but really exposes such a simple reality in the end. thank you ghibli for melting my heart each time<3