Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is Hayao Miyazaki‘s second movie and the first to be entirely his own.
Plot:
The world is pretty much entirely swallowed by toxic woods, inhabited by huge insects. Nausicaä lives in the Valley of the Wind, one of the few places left that has not been covered by the poisonous gas. When one day a plane crashes in the valley, Nausicaä gets drawn into a war that will shape what it’s left of the world.
To be honest, upon first watching, Nausicaä was the Miyazaki film I liked the least (except for Porco Rosso) which means that I still liked it a whole lot. But it improved considerably on the second watch. Which means that I really love it now. It’s beautifully made, has a wonderful story and Nausicaä is a great character.
In Nausicaä we really get to see what Miyazaki is all about – environmental messages packaged in a near-mystical story, interesting flying objects, intricate world building and beautiful landscapes, all presented with a tight plot and a nice sense of humour.
There, Miyazaki in a nutshell. ;)
The first time round, I didn’t like it that much. Actually, I don’t really know why. I think I didn’t really like Nausicaä. But this time, I adored her. Because Nausicaä is a really female heroine. What do I mean by that? Usually, kick-ass heroines (as in my post from yesterday) take on what are perceived as male traits and weapons – they start to use guns and knifes, they use violence. [Which is a very empowering thing, don’t get me wrong.] But Nausicaä takes the strengths that are usually perceived as female – understanding, gentleness – and makes those her weapons. For which I admire her deeply.
[If that last paragraph wasn’t clear, I’m sorry.]
And she has the cutest squirrel-like creature.
In the design of the woods and the airplanes – that’s were Miyazaki really outdid himself. It’s so beautiful, you can just lean back and enjoy this.
Fortunately, you don’t have to, since the perfectly paced story will keep you engaged the whole time.
Nausicaä may still not be the best or my favourite Miyazaki, but it’s a great movie and one that hints at the great things to come.
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I had a little squabble with the German subtitles, though. For example, they insisted on translating “charm” with Charme, which in German means like charisma, but it does not mean in any sense of the word “more or less magic artifact”. *grumble*
kalafudra's Stuff 
I’ve seen this movie as well. Didn’t know the title, though. And to be honest I didn’t very much like it. Don’t know why (I mean, there was even a world usurpation plan and all…).
If you are into female princesses with undestanding and gentleness as a weapon you should definitely see “Like clouds like the wind”, which I greatly liked.
… I shouldn’t write it down as it spoils my intellectual image – BUT: “Vampire knight” is worth your while. (Deadra will love it. About you I’m not totally sure – let me know when you’ve seen one or two episodues.)
Well, everybody their own cup of tea, right?
Like the Clouds, Like the Wind sounds interesting, I’ll see if I can get my hands on it.
And I will give Vampire Knight a chance as soon as I get home.
Don’t worry about your intellectual image – I mean, who am I to judge?