Still amazing two decades later

Miyazaki Hayao's first big film Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds was released in 1984. Based upon Miyazaki's manga, it follows the futuristic barren wasteland that Earth has become, ravaged by industrial toxins and radiation. Small pockets of civilization perch on the edge of the Sea of Decay, among them Nausicaa's Valley of the Winds, untouched by toxic mold spores. Nausicaa is a young princess with the ability to talk to animals and insects, using charms to keep them from destroying themselves and others. She is a fearless leader of her people, who wants to stop the bloodshed between warring factions and stop the murder of giant insects such as the Ohmu. Although altruistic, she possesses a dangerous, unpredictable rage. There is a prophecy in the land that a "...a person clad in blue standing in a golden field will find the bond between humanity and the earth, and lead the people to a pure land..."

The Valley is threatened when a ship from neighbouring Pejite crashes and releases toxic mold spores, along with a much more dangerous foe: one of the Giant God Soldiers responsible for the Seven Days of Fire, in which the world was nearly destroyed by nuclear radiation. Nausicaa finds the princess of Pejite inside, chained and mortally wounded.

The Valley is threatened by the appearance of Princess Kushana of Torumekia, who seizes power in a coup, killing Nausicaa's father. She seeks to resurrect the Giant God Soldier, whose nuclear weapons can destroy both enemies and the hordes of destructive insects that ravage the land. Nausicaa escapes, and must save her beloved valley from a stampede of enraged Ohmu...

The story, visuals, music, and sheer creativity are simply amazing. This is one of Miyazaki's most original, moving efforts, and I've seen nearly all his films from Nausicaa to Howl's Moving Castle. His frequent lament on the destruction of nature is at its most poignant here, the small seeds of hope blossoming into renewal. Visuals are strongly drawn from medieval costumes and castles in the Valley, the ships look like something from Star Trek, and the insects gave me nightmares (and I thought the giant cockroaches in my office were scary (!). I hope to get my hands on a copy of the original manga (in Japanese) to read more fully into the lush backstory of Nausicaa. Poetic, spiritual, and unique, this is my favourite Miyazaki film.