Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

^{Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind} is a post-apocalypltic japanese anime movie, considered to be the first of the many successful films of Studio Ghibli. Released in 1984 and directed by no other than Hayao Miyazaki, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no Tani no Naushika) was a major hit in Japan and won several awards, including the prestigious Animage Anime Grande Prix prize of 1984.

As you watch Nausicaa, you'll probably have a slight feeling of deja vu... that if you've watched Princess Mononoke before, that is! As in that anime, you'll see in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind:

- an otherwordly setting full of fantastic beings;

- a beautiful and detailed artwork (so much that it will make you forget this is a 1984 movie);

- an epic / classical soundtrack by the great composer Joe Hisaishi;

- a strong enviromentalism concern, which makes this film both insightful and introspective;

- and, of course, a leading female heroine that mesmerizes you through her depth of character and unusual actions.

Of course, there will also be lots of great action and FLYING scenes, but that is Miyazaki trademark ^_^'

Make no mistakes. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was a precursor to many of Studio Gibhli and Miyazaki more known movies, but because it's less known that doesn't make it a worse film, as you'll soon notice after you watched it.

In here you'll see many of the author favorite themes, that he explores in albeit a less refined way - but that happens because he explored them already in much greater extent, as this anime movie is an adaptation of Miyazaki own manga, of the same name!

What makes this movie stand out from the pack is it's refreshing rawness and it's post apocalyptical theme. Here you'll see that Mankind already messed up big time, and almost annihilated itself, as in their rush for expansionism, technology and greed they just forget about Mother Earth.

So one day, Earth fought back.... And, as expected of our ways, we waged a war on nature, instead of trying to understand it and live in harmony with it. And, of course, we lost. And after all that happened, you shake your head, because the few survivors of human race still bickers amongst themselves and the war rages on.

Of course, there are exceptions. And you'll be enchanted at how this movie portrays them. From the simple example of old and wise folks, that learned to respect Nature and it's signs instead of just being afraid of it, to the extreme example of main protagonist Nausicaa, that surpassed that respect, being compassionate about all living beings, being humans, trees or insects.

In fact, despite of all the great action scenes what impressed me the most was the way Nausicaa dealed with the situations. She used care. She used sympathy. Her compassion was her greatest weapon and the sacrifices she made to fight for what she believed, spells courage in my book. She's an awe inspiring character, I tell you that!

And that final scene brought tears to my eyes!

Well this was my two cents. You better judge for yourself. Movie comes next, go grab your popcorns!