So, any Hayao Miyazaki Fans Reading?

Film #247: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) 116mins

If we do have any Miyazaki fans here, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know this is just the first of five films he has on the list. Two of them in particular are in very respectable spots as well. For now though we'll concentrate on Nausicaä, a film of Miyazaki's which I have to admit I hadn't seen until yesterday (though out of the other four on the list, I have already seen three of them. So not too bad, yes?) Anyway, for anyone not familiar with Miyazaki he's a Japanese director/animator who has created some of the most memorable and revered animation films of all time, such as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro. Whereas I would usually choose to watch films like this in the original Japanese with subtitles, I did on this occassion opt for the dubbed English soundtrack. Why? Because it featured such great voice talents as Patrick Stewart, Mark Hamill, Edward James Olmos and...SHIA LABEOUF!! I just couldn't resist. I admit it probably took me out of the film a little, but it certainly didn't hamper my enjoyment.

Nausicaä is set in a post-apocalyptic world, 1000 years after war destroyed civilisation and the majority of the worlds ecosystem. Now human colonies live apart and are isolated from one another by patches of 'toxic jungle', areas where the air is unbreathable and huge insects and plants attack those who approach. The Princess of one of these colonies, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, has an uncanny ability to communicate with the creatures of the jungle and seeks to find answers regarding the origins of it. When the embryo of a Giant Warrior (a powerful creature that could be used to destroy the jungle) is found by humans, Nausicaä embarks on a journey which results in startling discoveries about the jungle and the effect that destroying it will have on the world.

I will start off by saying the film is visually stunning. The various creatures that appear throughout are both amazing to look at and yet often quite grotesque. The air battles that take place are hugely dynamic and enthralling to watch, and the sight of Nausicaä flying around on her futuristic jet glider is a truly iconic picture. Somehow the animators get it just right and the large, swirling movements of the glider seem completely realistic and almost hypnotising. The climax of the film, featuring a stampede of infuriated jungle creatures, is massive in scale and surely alone took months of work to complete. Forget the story for a second, this film is a must-see simply on the basis that it is a thing of absolute beauty.

Nausicaä likes what she sees!

The story itself, as with pretty much all of Miyazaki's films, is wonderfully absurd, but from the offset you can see that the narrative is inspired by real-world predictions of humanity slowly killing the environment. The WWF logo (the panda guys, not the wrestlers) even flashes up before the film starts. Despite the ideas of global war taking place between humans in command of giant legendary warrior creatures, there are moments that modern humanity can relate to and you can see parallels between the film and what is happening around us today. Politics also rears its ugly head, as the leaders and armies of many of the human tribes decide they want the Giant Warrior for themselves, even at the expense of the rest of humanity. Meanwhile a lot of the every-day folk see the dangers that are presenting themelves and seek to help Nausicaä rather than lock her up as a rebel. Whilst these kind of serious themes are present though, the film is never too preachy about them and can of course just be watched as an enjoyable futuristic fantasy film.

Though I would personally prefer to see, say, Akira on the list in its place (it has a few similar themes. Ish.), Nausicaä is a fantastic achievement and deserves to be recognized as such. It seems strange to me though that the prevailing animation films on the list are Miyazaki films and Pixar films. There isn't a single classic Disney film to be seen. Odd.

Lastly, the eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed I've skipped film #248. The library has it out on loan to someone else at the moment but hopefully I'll be able to get hold of it in the next few days. If you've missed any of my previous IMDB Top 250 blog posts, just hit the IMDB tag at the bottom of this one.