Review of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a 1984 Japanese Animated movie, and it marks the very beginning of one of the most beloved film studios of all time, Studio Ghibli. The studio was not founded up until 1985, one year after the release of Nausicaa, with the studio's first official production being Castle in the Sky, which hit the theaters in 1986. Regardless, Nausicaa is still often considered to be the first Ghibli film by many, and for good reasons. If you don't know the name Ghibli, then I do hope some of it's productions ring a bell to you. Studio Ghibli createdsome of the most amazing movies such as Spirited Away, Grave of the Fireflies and Princess Mononoke.

When you compare Princess Mononoke, which was released in 1997, to Nausicaa, you will spot a lot of similarities between the two. Although Mononoke is full of green landscapes, lush meadows, and dense forests, while Nausicaa's world is full of dry wastelands, poisonous mushroom woods and huge insects, they both share a lot of similarities and themes with each other. Both movies are about the coexistence of man and nature, and while both are full fledged epic adventure stories with a lot of spectacular visualized action, at a cost they are driven by a pacifistic anti-war message, which is fully expressed by the character of Nausicaa herself. Nausicaa is a young princess who lives in a distant future, where the world has been destroyed by some catastrophic event or a nuclear war. All that is left in the world of Nausicaa are big wastelands, poisonous forests and many other frightening dangers that roam the Earth. Meanwhile, two nations are at war, and Nausicaa's home, the small valley of the wind, is stuck in the middle of the conflict.

Nausicaa is a wonderful protagonist. She is strong, inspirational, caring and loving, brave and always concerned about the well-being of her people as well as all living things. She is a character that every little girl, and even boy can look up to, and creating strong characters is something that runs through the whole of Hayao Miyazaki. While he did not direct all of Ghibli's films, his name is often synonymously used when talking about them. He is without a doubt not only one of Japan's greatest film makers, but one of Cinema's greatest artists. Nausicaa was adapted from the first two volumes of the original manga by the same name, which Miyazaki himself wrote and drew. All together the manga was created in between the time span of 1982 and 1994, containing a full 7 volumes, so I do think that this should have been a TV series instead of a movie.

Miyazaki has created a little epic with Nausicaa. Already the first scenes radiate an enormous atmosphere and magic. You can see our lead protagonist on a trip to a mushroom forest, equipped with a breathing mask and a glider, she sets out on a journey of discovery to get to know the world of insects. It is a post apocalyptic world that has been destroyed by mankind hundreds or thousands of years ago in what is only said to be "The seven days of fire", which already hints at the vast destructive power of mankind and intrigues the viewer enough to watch it.

The setting of Nausicaa is amazing. What Miyazaki and his team created here looks absolutely fantastic, and despite the prevailing destruction in the film, everything seems eerily alive and literally captivates the viewer, which is certainly fitting to the character of our heroine Nausicaa. She also sees the beauty of everything around her, and my favorite moments are the scenes in which she delves deeper into those mysterious poisonous forests, where everything around her is deadly, and yet also filled with beauty and wonder.

Equally as important to the visuals, is the movie's musical score. This movie marks the first collaboration with composer Joe Hisaichi. Hisaichi moved on to score all of Miyazaki's films, and his music is among the very best, alongside that of composers like John Williams and Ennio Morricone. His music is captivating as always and makes a significant contribution to the magic of this film. The soundtrack includes some very atmospheric and harmonic pieces, and also contains some very aggressive songs that sound extremely electronic, and I love every second of it. Every time a piece was played during an epic scene, it made the scene even better and more exciting to watch. I find it also remarkable how often there is no musical score and the film just plays ambient sounds, dialogue or action, but then at a perfect moment, the music sets in and makes your heart rate go up.

Nasuicaa features a lot of great action, the conflict between insects and humans, as well as the interpersonal conflicts that offer a lot of room for amazing set pieces. The fights are fought not only with guns, but also with swords, which plays to the film's medieval touch with kingdoms and princesses. There are also many flight sequences with big and small airships, which is very typical for Miyazaki, who loves the concept of flying. The insects look incredible, from the smallest one to the giant ones that give a sense of great danger.

Of course there are also many quiet and thoughtful moments that radiate warmth and familiarity, giving viewers access to the world of Nausicaa and it's characters.

Overall, the film has some brutal parts, but it can definitely be recommended to a younger audience, and that is thanks to it's young, super sympathetic and brave title character Nausicaa, and the important message that is conveyed by the film. When it was released in 1984, it even got the recommendation from the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) because of it's environmental and peaceful message.

In a world that appears so threatening, a world where nations have huge flying armies, our heroine gracefully flies through the air with just her glider, a glider that has no guns attached. Nausicaa does use weapons in the film, but mostly to defend herself or to carefully stop a negative situation from occurring and taking place. She is someone who is curious, who loves to explore and wants to understand the true meaning of the things around her, and she is never appalled by things like sickness or old age. She just remains loving and there are some wonderful moments where the old people of her village are speaking with kind words about her and her amazing personality.

If there is one thing I hated about the movie, it is that all of the stuff with the different kingdoms and what nation is doing what, this all got convoluted in the finale and became very boring to sit through. Like I also said, the movie should have been turned into a TV series instead of a movie, so that it could have fully explained some of it's aspects. These issues, as well as me seeing a much better version of the same movie (Princess Mononoke) hold me back from giving the movie a perfect 10. Moreover, the movie suffers from a slow pace at times and a long length which makes it a chore to go through rather than an enjoyable movie at times.

Regardless, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a rich and beautiful film that should be seen by everybody, especially if you are into animation and adventure films, and just stories that include a lot of fantasy. With all of that being said and done, I give Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind a score of a 7/10.