"Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" Review

             How should you describe Miyazaki Hayao’s anime Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ)?  Would you focus on its post-apocalyptic world of medieval science fiction, combining knights, planes, swords, rifles, gunships, bioorganic titans, and giant insect guardians?  Would you talk about the stunning artistry and whether or not it is appropriate for the story’s somber undertones? Or should you discuss the film’s themes of environmentalism, anti-war, and humanity’s propensity for self-destruction?  NVW combines all these forming a surprisingly cohesive narrative that is fun to watch for people of all ages.  It is a creative film with stunning artistry and serious ideas developed through the presence of titanic Giant Warriors and the enigmatic Ohm, trilobite-guardians of nature’s renewal and judgments of humanity.  I will particularly focus on these aspects, given that they are central to what I consider the film’s chief meaning and primary concerns.  This will be based on the subbed translation of the re-mastered Japanese release.

NVW takes place after an apocalyptic cataclysm reduced most of the earth’s surface to a vast desert.  Though the specifics of this Armageddon are never explained, it’s heavily implied that humanity was a victim of its destructive, even suicidal disposition.  Embroiled by un-paralleled warfare and destruction, the Old World, as it’s called, was ravaged by creation and unleashing of Giant Warriors (or God Warriors, depending on the translation), weaponized bioorganic titans leaving in their wake a firestorm of death and global devastation.  But these events have now long settled into historic lore and mythic allegory - As such the characters of NVW treat them as powerfully ancient legends that were once all too real. 

This is exemplary of several of the film’s greatest strengths.  In treating the Giant Warriors with a sense of dread, awe, and power, their presence onscreen is overwhelming despite that they are only shown for only two or three minutes.  Part of what makes their short time so effective is the restraint Miyazaki used when handling their appearances.  By only mentioning small details about their willingness and capacity for destruction, this allows the viewer to bring his or her own imagination into the film.  Not only does that eliminate the need to depict Giant Warrior wrecking excessive obligatory violence, but it also helps capture the scale of NVW’s world.  These “monsters of the old world” are easily one of the most captivating aspects of the film.

A thousand years later, humanity’s remnants now contend with an ever encroaching poisonous jungle known as The Sea of Decay, the only flora which can survive in the toxic earth.  Guarded by massive trilobites called Ohm and other giant insects, these forests are exceptionally deadly to trespassers - Any act of aggression towards nature the will drive its denizens into a frenzied rage, obliterating all human life in sight.  The remaining nations now fight over Earth’s dwindling resources and remaining parcels of fertile land not yet claimed by ever-growing Sea.  As far as the movie shows us, there is a single exception; only the people of the Valley of the Wind have managed to coexist alongside the Sea of Decay in peace. 

NVW is at once the realization of many concepts drawn (literally) together.  Blending medieval European castles and windmills with WWII-esque bombing planes and gliders, swords and cyborgs, machine guns and armor, the film is a stunning vehicle for the fantastical, not to mention the spores, forests, giant insects, and titans of incomprehensible destruction.  The color scheme matches its ideas with vibrant hues and distinct character/creature design.  Admittedly this is sometimes at odds with the nature of the story – Though NVW is highly optimistic in its outlook, its tone and colorful design belies the seriousness of its environmental and anti-war overtones. 

When a foreign plane crashes into the Valley of the Wind, Princess Nausicaä discovers that they came from a neighboring country called Pejite.  More worrisome is their cargo, an unearthed fetus of a Giant Warrior in beginnings of its development. Suddenly the Valley of the Wind becomes a battleground. Another national power, the Tolmekians, vies to control the Giant Warrior so that they might wipe out the Sea of Decay and anyone who opposes them.  Nausicaä must at the same time contend with appeasing the vengeful Ohm, as the fighting has injured multiple insects.  But when she is stranded with a Pejite pilot, she discovers that not only is the Sea of Decay toxic because of humanity’s past warfare, but that deep below the swamps ancient wellsprings of water have become purified.  In essence the jungle exists to cleanse the soil while the Ohm act as watchful protectors to ensure its safe return. 

Convinced that humanity must coexist with the Sea of Decay so that life can return to Earth, Nausicaä rushes to back to the valley.  But on the return journey she intercepts a plot from the remaining Pejite leadership.  After torturing and kidnapping an Ohm larvae, they have flown it in the direction of the Valley so that the Ohm will swarm, destroying the Tolmekians along with everyone else.  Seeing the Ohm stampede, the Tolmekian leader releases the undeveloped Giant Warrior hoping it will stop them.  Though it unleashes single blasts of truly devastating firepower, it ultimately collapses and dissolves.  Everything looks hopeless until Nausicaä sacrifices herself to return the baby.  The Ohm cease their charge and heal Nausicaä, fulfilling an ancient prophecy that a man (in this case, a woman) would “Join bonds with the great earth and lead the people to the pure land, at last.” The Ohm return to the forest, the Tolmekian leader realizes the futility of their conquest and returns to her homeland, and the non-violent Pejites join the Valley to help rebuild under Nausicaä’s guidance.  All ends well, as far as we can tell.

Perhaps the scene that best encompasses the spirit of NVW is Nausicaä’s guiding an injured fly-like insect back to the forest.  On one hand it is prompted by the fear of the villagers; as one of them remarks, “Thank God.  No telling how we’d suffer for even a single insect’s death.” But it is just as much an expression of peace and compassion on her behalf. Rather than letting it die or silencing it, she leads to safety and lets it fly off into the distance.  But just before she turns to leave, she sees a single Ohm on the horizon straight ahead of her, watching, waiting, anticipating their return.  Then, once the fly reaches the jungle, the Ohm slowly turns its back and leaves.  It is one of the most subtle and enigmatic scenes of the entire film, encapsulating NVW’s perspective on nature.  Rather than stereotyping animals (or insects) and the environment as an apathetic entity, nature is instead presented as the arbiter of life.  Ohm are more than sentient guardians of the forest - They have essentially become the moral compass for humanity’s remnants.  Even as their reactions are animalistic given how people are judged in immediate terms of black and white (or blue and red), because the Ohm will recognize acts of sacrifice, nature has provided a framework for rehabilitating and redeeming the human race.  This is especially important since humanity was to blame for poisoning the Earth.  It shows that nature is still willing to accept humanity as long as they are respectful.  By extension I believe that’s why the Valley of the Wind was symbolically spared from the Sea of Decay’s spread.  Because the wind protected the valley from the toxic spores, this can be read as nature’s affirmation of their values.  Moreover, when the Ohm charge believing that the villagers had taken and injured one of their young the wind stops, revoking nature’s blessing; the villagers quickly recognize this as a premonition of doom.  Only through Nausicaä’s self-sacrifice to the Ohm can she return the wind to the valley and thereby save her people.  And in turn, nature forgives them.

The Ohm are also a brilliant contrast to the Giant Warriors.  I don’t think it’s any mistake that giant bugs were chosen to represent the guardians of the forest.  They are absolutely alien and unrecognizable, unlike mankind in every physical aspect.  Yet the Giant Warriors walk on two feet, carry giant spears, and wield the terrible gift of fire, leaving nothing but bones, flesh, and ash as their monuments.  Alternatively, when Ohm perish, spores grow inside their body, thus spreading the forests and continuing the circle of life.  The mirror NVW holds up to mankind is not flattering.  Not only does it juxtapose the inner nature of humanity and nature, but it also asks us to consider what it we leave behind?  Obaba, the wise woman of the Valley of Wind provides an answer to that self-introspection: “The Ohms’s rage is the fury of the Earth itself.  There’s no reason to live if our lives depend on a monster.”

What motivated Miyazaki to make this film?  Only he can answer that question.  But I’m willing to guess that in the wake of the Cold War and with the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the first thing that comes to my mind is Mutually Assured Destruction.  Though it’s never clarified how the Giant Warriors purged the world in a period of seven days (insert creation-imagery here), I wonder if the colossuses simply kept on destroying world because that was their purpose, even if it was not their makers’ intention.  The problem with beings or weapons designed for mass destruction is that they tend to do their job very well.  As they’re said to be designed to be the most evil creatures on the face of the Earth, It is easy to imagine them getting out of control.  I am more than willing to liken them to the atomic bomb in literal man-made form, especially considering the mushroom cloud erupting from its blast in the film’s final act.

I will partially criticize NVW for this apparent discrepancy between the gravity of its undertones and the upbeat presentation.  While the artistry is colorfully gorgeous, the story compelling, and the characters mostly memorable and sympathetic, the optimistic tone and bright atmosphere feels disjointed at times when compared to the seriousness of its message.  This is not necessarily a bad thing; there is nothing wrong with making a light-hearted movie that tries to address somber issues.  Even as its topics are weighty, NVW presents a hopeful perspective on humanity, despite admitting their faults.  But given the dichotomy alongside other details, I found it harder to be invested in its story and characters.  Many of the characters offer cute, melodramatic, or stereotypical performances when the film works best with subtle moments.  Sections of the synthetic music also have not aged well, but all of these are minor concerns. Besides, some of this also depends on who the film is intended for.  I’m confident in saying that this is a film for all ages, and in making itself presentable to kids and grown-ups while introducing ideas about anti-war and environmentalism is no simple feat.  It’s impressive in and of itself that NVW tells a story of how mankind has poisoned the world through warfare, how nature heals the earth’s wounds, and that mankind must show it respect, or else be leveled through their own self-destruction, all the while juggling the best and worst sides of humanity.  Is the film perfect?  Perhaps not, depending on the viewer’s perspective.  But is it still worth watching?  Yes, absolutely.