Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1985)

Hayao Miyazaki's second anime feature film, NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND is an adventurous post-apocalyptic fable that presciently and astutely imparts us what will become humanity's ruination, humans. While Miyazaki's fatalistic outlook runs deeply in his works, he knows how to tell an intriguing story by putting a doughty protagonist in the cynosure, typically, a young girl ne plus ultra, possesses all the merits of human nature, against the worst-case scenario, in this case, the residual mankind is facing the aggression from giant mutant insects (called "ohm", resembling a trilobite decked with numberless eyes) peopling a sprawling toxic jungle as the aftermath of the Seven Days of Fire, a war has obliterated most of human civilization. Nausicaä, the princess of Valley of the Wind, an untainted Shangri-La covered by verdure and powered by pneumatic energy, becomes the linchpin to thwart this seemingly inexorable annihilation, even if this means she must sacrifice herself.But what becomes involute is Miyazaki's off-beat sensibility to seek transcendent beauty beneath (in its very literal sense) the overwhelming darkness and venom, perchance those ohms are not aggressors but protectors of the planet earth, the purifiers to detoxify it from human's undue contamination, this revelation strikes like a gut-punch to our anthropocentric conformity, and instantly gives this anime a rightly cynical yet self-examining heart that seminally elevates it to the stratosphere of this unique art form, apart from the artifact's sweepingly fluid craftsmanship of redoubling narrative integration and bizarrely awe-inspiring cel animation imagery, to say nothing of Miyazaki's vibrant palette that often exceedingly appeals to kids and adults like. As enterprising and edifying as any masterpieces hammered out under the brand of Studio Ghibli (in truth, the studio was founded in 1985, after the film's success), NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND might lose a modicum of plaudits for its rapid-fire agenda-divulging, viz., the motives behind Tolmekia and Pejite peoples are somewhat discombobulating for subtitle-reading first-timer, also the prophecy-fulfilling finale might crop up a tad slapdash and sappy if one is familiar with Miyazaki's other works. At any rate, quibbles do not obscure all the virtues of Miyazaki's thought-provoking masterwork, garlanded with Joe Hisaishi's synth-generated bravura and a humble reverence to the animistic existence, NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND is a timeless classic, indeed, not for anime aficionados alone.

I know there's a huge fan base for anime movies like this, and especially for works by director Hayao Miyazaki, but I just couldn't engage with this film after about a half hour. I've watched other films from Miyazaki and quite honestly, though they're all beautifully rendered, they often seem disjointed continuity wise, and in some cases, quite difficult to follow. 'Nausica' by contrast was easy enough to follow, but after a while I just didn't care. One thing that bothered me about the story was the idea that civilization was destroyed a thousand years ago, but it seemed like the toxic jungle taking over the world was a relatively recent phenomenon. A thousand years seemed like a pretty long time for humanity to make a comeback or be wiped out completely, so the idea that there were warring tribes threatening the Valley of the Wind seemed like a disconnect to me. Interestingly, the very last animated film I saw was "How to Train Your Dragon", and it struck me how similar the basic plot of both movies seemed to be, In each one, opposing forces, human and animal, come to a realization that they were better off living with each other in harmony because they could help each other, rather than waste their energy and lives fighting at war. This film took a long time coming to that conclusion.

"Nausicaä of the Valley" of the Wind is a movie that just seems to get everything right: how to take its audience to a fully-realized fantasy world (steampunk-tinged yet bursting with opulent color); how to tell a story with an emphatic but not smothering environmental message; and anchor it with a strong female character. I was just as enthralled with the animation as I was with the music.There's an amazingly empathic heart beating inside Nausicaä and it feels like a deeply personal effort. Studio Ghibli's reputation for quality and imagination is firmly established, and this is no disappointment in that respect.Absolutely worth seeing.8/10

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a breathtakingly beautiful film...and I'm putting that lightly. When I first popped the CD in, I was expecting an anime fairy tale, not an awesome sci-fi flick with a heavy and still relevant environmental message. I was both wowed by the plot and the fluid animation that had a relatively cheap budget (only about $1,000,000 estimate d budget).I think this is the first Miyazaki film that really shows his impeccable talent (sorry, Totoro). This is a film I had to watch more than once to really fully understand it (and even then most Miyazaki films can still remain confusing). However, if I were to show my kid their first Miyazaki film, it would be this masterpiece. Heck, Is make this their first film to ever watch along with 'Spirited Away' to challenge their brains and show them some of the troubles in the world without frightening them. Thank you Miyazaki. You are a genius.