All Miyazaki films are anime masterpieces and everyone's
seem to have their special favourite, but maybe, this beautiful
one with haunting flight scenes from above the clouds but also somewhat
sad one with a lot of people actually dying,
is my favourite. Sheeta, an orphaned peasant girl from the North, has
got this magic crystal and is chased by govern-
mental agent Muska and the aeroplane pirate gang led by Mother. In a
mining city she meets the boy Pazu and the chase
continues underground in old mines, and the animation is almost magically
beautiful. An old miner tell them the truth
about the crystal, it has been created by the ancient floating civilization
Laputa who once ruled the earth.
(Text above written in 2003 after watching the Hong Kong DVD edition
and the film was as great when re-watching it
in March 2023 on a Blu-ray edition and with some text added below)
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Written March 2023: The film starts with Air Pirates
attacking a passenger airship and it's Mama and her boys and they are
after a Crystal amulet worn by one of the passengers, a girl, Sheeta.
She's guarded by a secret agent Muska, and the
ruckus that follows leads to Sheeta falling from the ship towards sure
death.
But her medallion crystal alightens and slows her fall. Slowly she descends
and at the ground a boy, Pazu can take her
in his arms. They are both orphans and she comes from the north and
he lives in a mining town. Now a wild chase is on
after them when Muska and the whole army and also Momma and her boys
hunts them.
After once more being in free fall and being saved by the powers of
the crystal, they find themselves deep below ground
where an old miner tells them that The Laputians once made the crystal
and the floating castle, and that Sheeta may be
a Laputian herself as she carries the crystal.
Pazu's father once saw a glimpse of the floating city
hidden in the clouds (and took a photo dated 1868) but no-one
believed him and Pazu wants to see Laputa too, Sheeta wants to get to
Laputa too (to get an answer about the crystal),
Mama's gang want to get there also to plunder Laputa of it's riches,
and Muska and the Army wants to get there to ...
their reasons are unclear but Muska has his own secret plans for sure.
....................................................................................
What I liked in this fantastic film: The old 1986 animation
but still often hauntingly beautiful. The lyrical parts of the film
when Pazu and Sheeta flies with Momma's airplane The Tiger Moth high
up in the clouds and at night, and also when
they are on Laputa their meeting with the last Robot, all alone and
taking care of the animals and plants until it shuts
down or until the end of time. AI to take over when humans are gone.
Yes, the soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi was beautful.
A Masterpiece, both lyrical and with darkness and with
a powerful anti-war message (but maybe i'm wrong). This is a
dark film as thousands of soldiers die, like they were no more than
flies, like dust, and as i write this in March 2023 this
is more actual than ever. When powerful and genuinely evil global Elites
are letting hundreds of thousands of men, and
even young boys and elderly men, die in their endless and meaningless
wars. Die for What ? To gain geopolitical power
and amass money for the Elites. Power and money and then even more money.
Behind every war there are Bankers and humanity will probably never
get free from these vultures grip on us before they
end humanity with a final nuclear holocaust. Disgusting warmongers they
are.
This Steampunk action adventure
? The film should take place in the early 1900's and the car, the steampowered
train
and somewhat also the propeller driven planes (and the fact that Pazu's
father took a photo in 1868) indicates that.
IF NOT the advanced flying ships and the powerful weapons of the Army
with their ancient looking machines indicates
something else (the weapons of the Army looks more like WW2 than WW1).
I think this film takes place in Fantasy time.
Film presented in widescreen 1.85:1 with japanese audio
PCM 2.0 stereo and with swedish subtitles, bluray region B.
Extras: Drawings, About the film featurette (12 minutes in japanese
with subs), Trailers and TV spot and the gorgeous
Credits and End credits
