Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is a pretty wild shift from Ponyo, let me tell you. It may not be a beginning-to-end delightful joyride like Ponyo was, but it feels much more important.
A quick note, going forward: Although Ponyo was picked essentially at random for my first review, from here on out my plan is to review every Studio Ghibli film in order of release. Technically, Nausicaä isn’t an actual Ghibli film, being released before the formation of the studio, but most people consider it one anyway due to the people who worked on it and the general vibes. A second, even quicker note: in Chrome, you can type ä by holding down the alt key while pressing 1 3 2 on the numpad. Now you can all write your own Nausicaä blog posts! Alright then. A quick summary for those who haven’t seen it: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is set centuries after our civilization has collapsed. Humanity survives, but their primitive settlements are threatened by the toxic jungles that cover much of the globe, filled with poison spores and giant, hostile insects. Our protagonist, a young woman named Nausicaä, is caught between warring nations who just might be about to trigger a fresh apocalypse before the old one’s even worn off. There’s a bunch that I can’t include here; Nausicaä has a lot going on. You should really just go watch it. |
This movie is outstanding in several ways. The first and most obvious way is its
design. This proto-Ghibli movie doesn’t quite display the incredible animation of Ponyo or the studio’s other subsequent films, but the designs of the characters and creatures in this movie are striking and create some truly memorable shots, like when Nausicaä finds the Ohm exoskeleton. Great Design Highlights:
Oh, and there’s this lady: |
Ok, so the design is amazing. Know what else is? The
protagonist. Nausicaä is one of my favorite movie protagonists in a long time, despite the completely unnecessary umlaut/diaeresis in her name. I like that when we meet her, she is already extremely competent. The film immediately establishes that she is experienced with travelling through the perilous toxic jungle, and comfortable enough there to take a quick nap on top of the Ohm exoskeleton. Every action we see her take, from loading and firing her gun, to flying her glider, to using her sword, to calming angry insects, speaks of mastery and practice. This could result in a boring protagonist who already knows everything; however, Nausicaä does undergo character development in this movie, it just doesn’t relate to her skills. Despite the harsh world she’s grown up in, we get the sense that Nausicaä has enjoyed a fairly happy childhood. She loves exploring the world around her village, she is beloved of the townspeople, and oh yeah, she’s also a princess (and a scientist??? She’s the best.). She’s used to danger, but when her sheltered valley is caught in a war between two larger nations, she’s confronted with things much worse than danger: hatred, cruelty, and senseless violence. Nausicaä is used to the peaceful people of her village, and the dangerous but pragmatic violence of nature. She is brutally awakened from this dream as an invading foreign power needlessly murders her defenseless subjects. She flies into a rage, defeating multiple armed soldiers on her own and without much difficulty. This scene was critical for me, because explicitly showing us that Nausicaä is capable of great anger and violence makes her later decisions more meaningful. Nausicaä’s journey is about choosing compassion in the face of cruelty and kindness in the face of violence, which is absolutely something that more adventure movies could stand to build their character development on. |
The movie may take a wandering path to get to its climax — the pacing is a little weird and I think the movie could’ve worked with one less nation for us to learn about — but wow, that climax. It's essentially the best possible resolution for a movie about the power of compassion and the bravery inherent in pacifism.
So basically while Nausicaä doesn’t have the same rewatchability that Ponyo has, it does have something to say, and it says it well. Everyone should watch this movie. Next up: Castle in the Sky! How long will the streak of movies named “X on/in/of the X” continue?? Alternate review titles: Nausicaä of the Children of the Mind Nausicaä: The Movie That Made Me Care About Bugs Another really good review of Nausicaä can be found here at Tor: https://www.tor.com/2017/03/29/nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind-a-new-kind-of-action-hero/ |