Tales From
Earthsea
“Only
in silence the word,
Only in dark the light,
Only in dying life;
Bright the hawk’s flight
On the empty sky”
— The Creation of Éa
DURING THE 1970's, through my love of fantasy and science fiction,
I discovered Ursula Le Guin and her extraordinary Earthsea trilogy.
The well-thumbed book is still on my bookshelf. So I was delighted
to discover that the remarkable Studio Ghibli — the team respon-sible for
the captivating Spirited Away and Howl's Castle
— had produced Tales From Earthsea, which marks the directorial
debut of Goro Miyazaki, the son of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited
Away).
Based on Le Guin's series of books and inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's Shuna's
Journey, Tales From Earthsea is an enchanting story with a fantasy
background of wizards and dragons.
The opening sequence sees a ship tossed around on a raging sea; two dragons
appear from the storm clouds and fight each other — an un-believable sight
and a dreadful omen that signifies the very light of the balance of the world
is collapsing. Fever and drought are rife; livestock are dying and farmers are
abandoning their lands.
But why? And who is responsible? Then the King is killed — apparently by
his own son, Arren (the voice of Matt Levin), who then disappears.
The hero of Earthsea, the wizard and Arch Mage Sparrowhawk (the voice of Timothy
Dalton — and perfect casting), saves a young boy from certain death —
a boy who is dogged by a dark shadow and who cares naught for his own life.
Sparrowhawk sets out on a quest to track down the evil that is threatening his
world. It is a quest that will lead him to the castle of an old enemy, the evil
Cob (the voice of Willem Dafoe — again, absolutely fitting casting). But
Cob has many tricks up his sleeve, including kidnapping Tenar (voice of Mariska
Hargitay), a dear friend of Sparrow-hawk's whose life was saved by the Arch
Mage many years before.
Under Tenar's protection is a mysterious young girl, Therru (the voice of Blaire
Restaneo, who also sings the poignant Therru's Song), whom Arren has
rescued from slave traders — not realising she has a con-nection with Sparrowhawk.
Is Therru strong enough to join forces with Sparrowhawk and Arren to rescue
Tenar and destroy the evil that has seeped into the world?
The usual haunting music (by Tamiya Terashima) accompanies the beautiful landscapes
with romantic ruins, magnificent harbour towns,
a ship's graveyard with majestic galleons and rolling hills.
It is a story about good versus evil; where gutsy youngsters demand to be noticed.
Words of wisdom, psychological observations and suitably-menacing bad guys are
all things that make Studio Ghibli so watchable. Goro Miyazaki also wrote the
screenplay with Keiko Niwa and this is a creditable first offering from a talented
Director.
• Tales From Earthsea will be released
on DVD as a two-disc special edition, on 28 January (2008).
Technical specs:
Cert PG | Feature running time 115 minutes Approximately | Region 2 | Aspect
Ratio 16:9 Arnamorphic | Colour PAL | Dolby Digital 5.1 | Catalogue No: OPTD1083
| Japanese with English Subtitles | English Dub | RRP: £19.99 (UK).
Extras:
Disc 1: English Dub or Japanese with English subtitles | Storyboards.
Disc 2: Making Of/Trailers (11 minutes) | NTV Special (44 minutes) | Behind
the Microphone (47 minutes) | Studio Ghibli Trailer Reel.
"Visually stunning… An epic creation pitched against a backdrop of vividly hued,
sweeping landscapes. A true gem from the Miyazaki dynasty" — i-D Magazine
“Only
in silence the word,