"Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" *** (out of ****)I'm going to tell you a quick story about how my feelings on animation have changed over the years. I never really appreciated animation growing up. Even as child I preferred live action films. As I got older I thought of animation merely as children entertainment and undoubtedly, that is the target audience. I didn't think there was anything there which could sustain the interest of an adult. Then Pixar and Disney started releasing films. I didn't like the first "Toy Story" but enjoyed the sequel greatly and loved "Finding Nemo", which I even placed on my "top ten" list in 2003.
It was around this time the name Hayao Miyazaki was brought to my attention. In 2002 his "Spirited Away" was released in the U.S. and critic Roger Ebert raved about it giving it a four star review and eventually placing it on his "top ten" list for 2002. And so I eventually saw a Miyazaki film. I can't remember which one I saw first but since that time I have been in awe of Mr. Miyazaki, whom many consider not only the greatest animator in Japan but in the world. No computer effects for Mr. Miyazaki, he does it the old fashion way; drawing. And many times his animation is quite simply more impressive than any computer animated effect.
"Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" (which I will refer to as "Nausicaa" from now on) is considered by many to be Miyazaki's masterpiece. I don't share that strong delight but it is a film worth seeing and does contain many of the elements which make a Miyazaki film great.
"Nausicaa" takes place in the future in a world where man and insects cannot co-exist. Man has destroyed the land by pollution. Now people must wear gas mask at all times when outside. There is a toxic jungle where the giant Ohm creatures live and when man does something to offend the creatures, they attack. There are now only a few places left where people can survive, one those places is called the Valley of the Wind and its princess is a young girl named Nausicaa (voiced by Alison Lohman in the U.S. release).
Ever since a child Nausicaa has loved nature and insects she independently has tried to figure out how man can restore the land before, it is feared, mankind will become extinct.
Now while this is going on there is another war being fought between two tribal groups the Pejite people and the Tolmekians. The Tolmekians are led by Princess Kushana (Uma Thurman) and the Pejite by Prince Abel (Shia LaBeouf). The Tolmekians want to unearth a giant warrior, five of which roamed the earth a thousand years ago during what is known as the "seven days of fire". This has a heavy biblical reference to it. It is said God first tried to destroy the Earth by water, Noah's ark. The next time he would try would be by fire. The Tolmekians want the giant warrior to destroy all the creatures so man can survive. The Pejite are afraid if the Tolmekians have the giant warrior they will kill everyone and want to rule the land.
This may all sound pretty complex to someone. Imagine trying to explain this to a six year old. But Miyazaki usually makes films which are very mature in their subject matter and go beyond anything Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny deal with. "Nausicaa", if you were paying attention, is clearly a story about the environment. Given all the attention global warming gets in the news it is fitting for some to see this movie. Here is a film made back in 1984 warning us about the dangers of pollution and it had nothing to do with Al Gore!
What stops me from giving the film four stars is, while I truly appreciate the mature storyline and Miyazaki's handling of the story, it doesn't have a certain magical quality I like in animation and from Mr. Miyazaki. My favorite, of all the films by him I have seen, was his last released in the U.S., "Howl's Moving Castle". It is a story dealing with the supernatural. About wizards and witches and a young girl who gets swept up into this magical world. "Nausicaa" even though it is really a sci-fi film, seems a little to, believe this or not, realistic.
When I watch animation I want to be taken to a different world. Animation for me, to quote Humphrey Bogart in the "Maltese Falcon", is the stuff dreams are made of. While I do want a story to hold my interest, animation can do things live action cannot. I want to see new worlds. Look at "Spirited Away", "Castle in the Sky" or "Porco rosso", unexplainable things happen. With "Nausicaa" I didn't feel that way. But because I may be the only one who feels this way about animation I have decided to recommend the film.
This film was released in the 1980s under a different title, "Warriors of the Wind". It is about an hour shorter, massive edits were made so the film would have a broader appeal to children. And given this storyline you can perhaps understand why. Though Miyazaki was extremely upset by these edits and in 2004 when Disney bought the rights to Mr. Miyazaki's work it was in their contract no editing except for translations. This version of "Nausicaa" is the original length, 2 hours long.
There has also been a bit of controversy surrounding the film regarding Nausicaa's clothes. Many people, including myself to be honest, could have sworn there are times when it seems Nausicaa is wearing nothing underneath her dress as the viewer sees, I don't know how to say this, her buttocks. Miyazaki has claimed the problem was due to a lack of color fidelity. It is really a pants Nausicaa is wearing which happens to be the same color as her skin. You can believe what you want.
It has been confirmed Mr. Miyazaki is about to release a new film, "Ponyo on the Cliff", the master says this will be his last film. Though I have heard from others Mr. Miyazaki has made this claim before. But one can never be too sure. Hopefully the rumors are false. Either way I look forward to seeing his new film which has a 2009 scheduled release.
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