Review of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

I first watched "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds" when I'd only watched a couple of films that are directed by Miyazaki. I was blown away at the time, and thought it was the best thing he's done. Now that I've seen a lot more of his films, I can conclude that... it still is one of the best things he's done. More dramatic, more intense than Miayazaki's normal work, "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds" is aimed an older audience. The prelude, with the wind blowing across the uninhabitable wastlands, is a memorable one, and the desolate scene captures the title perfectly (althoughthe masks that the people from that scene wore made them look like dogs from a Hanna Babera cartoon, which confused me for a bit). This is followed by the opening credits that uses ancient civilization style paintings to tell a prophecy that foreshadows events to come. Right from the start, everything about this film is eye catching. And from the terrifying sights of the stampeding Ohmu herd to the emotional scene at the acid lake that made me wince; from the flashback of Nausicaa's childhood to the tear jerking finale, "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds" is just full of memorable and touching moments. The story is epic and imaginative, but feels incomplete - perhaps the manga was incomplete at the time of animation or something, but the film doesn't really feel self contained despite already being longer than most other animated films. I'd like to know what happens after the film ends and also see some more about the background to the conflict shown in the film.

Even though many people view "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds" to be Miyazaki's first outing for Studio Ghibli, and even though it's generally considered to be part of the Ghibli collection, the film was actually made prior to the studio being founded. Being one of Miyazaki's earlier works, although it does have some of the "Miyazaki aura" about it, it also feels refreshingly different at the same time - like it was made before he discovered his "winning formula" and started sticking to it. This is probably why this film possesses a kind of rawness and intensity, and it's something that I really like about it. However, I'm sorry to say that the human character designs are very Miyazaki-esq even back then, especially with Nausicaa herself looking like all the other female leads in all the other Miyazaki films. What's more, because the film is quite grim at times, the conventional Miyazaki character designs feels a little out of place.

Nausicaa is probably one of the best heroines Miyazaki has ever created. Not only does she prove to be a worthy princess, constantly doing the best for her people, but she's also ready to lend a helping hand to others in need: people she doesn't know; people who have done her wrong and even non-human creatures. Although at first she annoyed me a bit with some bland monologues such as "my heart is pounding", I was soon won over by her qualities of intelligence, compassion and bravery etc. And the fact that she is not prone to making mistakes (as shown when she loses control of herself and goes into a rage) just serves to make her more human. Of course, no hero or heroine would be complete without that self sacrificing quality, and it’s obvious that Nausicaa has it by the bucketload. I think her willingness to put her body on the line and sacrifice herself for the sake of others is what makes the film such an emotionally engaging one.

Aside from the character designs, the animation is very good in general. The alien creatures that inhabit the world look amazing - I especially liked the fluid, worm like movements of the Ohmu (when they're not in stampede mode). The art is very detailed, and the bleakness of the settings really comes across in the scenery. However, the hand to hand combat sequences are somewhat lacklustre, probably not helped along by the cartoony character designs. The aerial battles are also less than convincing - the execution is okay, but the difficulty those massive planes have in dealing with some tiny little gunship comes off as a little odd. At the end of the day, I guess combat sequences just aren't Miyazaki’s forte.

The environmental undertones are clear for all to see, with the story being set in a post apocolyptic world that's the result of destructive human activities. What's interesting is that, over a decade later, Miyazaki directed "Princess Mononoke", and that is often considered to be a perfected version of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds" due to to its more mature understanding of the environmental issues. Compared to "Princess Mononoke", the finger pointing that goes on in this film does feel a little naive and preachy. But the strange thing is, despite all the flaws in this early prototype of Miyazaki's, or perhaps because of them, "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds" strikes a chord with me that the more polished "Pincess Mononoke" never quite did.

With its mismatched style, incomplete story and naive environmental messages etc, "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds" is very much an unrefined gem. But a rough diamond is still a diamond, and this film has something about it that allows it to outshine most if not all the better made Ghibli films. A must watch for any fan of Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli.