Before Princess Mononoke, which is still for me Hayao Miyazaki's greatest work, he made this film, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, which like that other later film addressed issues that are paramount for the filmmaker: the environment, and the Earth, and how human beings can have highs and lows in attention to it. On the one hand Miyazaki gives us who is perhaps one of the purest heroes in any animated film, Japanese or otherwise, with Nausicaa as a woman who doesn't want killing on any side, and knows that there can be some peace with the environment of the world.

Her greatest strengths end up coming out in various ways, like when she goes to stop the Ohm, the big beetle-insects that are the largest "threat" (threat in quotes because it depends on the reaction of the two sides- the Tolmekian and the Pejite- and how either one inflames the reaction of the Ohm)- and in her general attitude to killing and violence. It's a fragile world, and she's perhaps one of only a few, and the only one willing to 'go the distance', to understand how what remains underground, what can't be seen, can make a difference. She's like a big action hero for preservationists and pacifists, but it's such a strongly defined character that the basic qualities come out wonderfully, like when she has to contend with her obvious emotional reaction to her father being slain (almost a Star Wars 'force' moment if you ask me).

So as she represents the good, there is the other side, which is represented by not necessarily the outright evil, even if the Tolmekian find the only way to combat anything is through warrior actions, but by ignorance and greed. It's not always as simple as that, and one could see a little dimension to the princess Kushuna, but even there the essentials get burned down to not just Miyazaki's points, but what works for the structure of classic fantasy. It might be tricky for Miyazaki to balance out his message of peace and understanding with what should be a sensational entertainment of a world 1000 years from now following an apocalypse; it treads the line, as Mononoke did, of becoming incoherent with the message and the manipulation of the audience.

But Miyazaki happens to be intelligent enough to trust the audience on the front of the message, and so he puts up his film in his usual thrust of indelible, one-of-a-kind images and exciting action. I especially liked seeing the Ohm themselves, one by one looking like even more detailed, nuanced versions of the Garthem in the Dark Crystal. Or in the sky-flying scenes, where the clouds are like unique formations that can't really be of the world we're in, but are in this world nonetheless that Miyazaki forges from classic mythology, reinterpretations of forests and insects, and post-apocalyptic technology out of a high-powered junk-yard.

And on top of this, as a word of note, this grandiose (in a good way) kind of epic work is supplanted with a better than expected voice cast- for the English language dub on the new DVD. They help back up the pieces of Miyazaki's world where there is some science fiction, but not in a fully compiled sense (if anything it's sort of like a 'used' science fiction world like Blade Runner, in part I mean). There's also some moments in the classical style, of a hero coming into her own that might seem too reminiscent of other movies. But Nausicaa is backed up by several cool supporting characters, like the equally heroic Lord Yuru, and the conflicted Pejite Asbel who has to choose the greater good (and common sense, in the Miyazaki form) over his tribe's priorities.

By the end, it actually left me like Totoro did with a huge, well-earned smile on my face, due to it being one of those happy endings that is so unlikely, yet is done as if there could be no other way in Miyazaki's universe. It's fresh and sublime anime, and the master of Studio Ghibli at one of his best.

... and it's only got angrier since this epic critique of the damage and destruction the human race affects against the flora and fauna of the place we call home, as well as upon itself. Visionary, prophetic, disturbing and heartbreaking, often concurrently, a testament to future generations that we were fully aware of our impact and neglect, that we chose to do very little about it and that what we did do was long after the horse, the fish, the insects (especially the bees) had bolted.

The first thing to establish is that this is a science fiction epic. It has more in common with 'Dune' or any number of SF novels - Brian Aldiss's 'Hothouse' springs to mind for one- than it does with a typical western animated children's film. Therefore one's expectations should be a little different, and ultimately it was the SF aspect which gave the movie such a high grade in my books. Whereas it didn't have quite the emotional clout that I look for in an animated feature, it was a stupendously told SF story.

Technically not a Ghibli film (Miyazaki actually used the studio which did most of 'The Last Unicorn', and which more or less became Ghibli when 'Laputa' was made a couple of years later), 'Nausicaa' is a far-future SF story with a princess/warrior/nature-lover heroine and strong environmental themes. There's also an opposing princess/leader trying to use technology to overcome the apparently hostile environment. If you're starting to think 'Princess Mononoke', you'd be on the right track. In some ways 'Nausicaa' seems like an early stab in the direction of 'Mononoke', though the latter would delve far more into spirituality and mythology, eschewing the SF aspects.

There aren't really any major weak points in Nausicaa - unless you count the frustrating 12 drawings per second animation which I constantly complain about in Japanese animation. The backgrounds aren't as amazing and the animation not as good as the last few Ghibli films, but for 1984 it was plenty good enough. I have a fairly trivial complaint in that the character of Kuratowa is drawn in a slightly more 'anime' style, ala Lupin III, whereas all of the other characters are done in a realistic style. He just seems a little out of place, though he's quite delightfully drawn.

The really strong points of the movie are its pacing (at least until the very end. Miyazaki was unhappy with the end too), its story telling, which manages to be sophisticated without being impossibly complex, its engrossing background drawings and settings, - and most of all in the amazing attention to detail in the fully realized post-apocalypse SF-fantasy world in which the story is set. Every little thing is worked out and placed such that you find yourself admiring inventions, ideas, structures, creatures, etc which don't draw attention to themselves, but simply exist as part of the backdrop of the movie. Of course 'Nausicaa' had existed for several years as a serialised Manga, so Miyazaki no doubt knew its universe inside-out.

There's a very clever plot, which I won't give away, but which involves humanity's relationship with the Earth and nature.

It's the sort of movie which you can get thoroughly caught up in, and which will stand repeated viewings. It really is a film which is perfectly pitched at both a young and an adult audience. As Miyazaki's second feature film it is also, rightly or wrongly, usually considered the start of Studio Ghibli, and is arguably worth watching for historical reasons, too.

Not the very best from Miyazaki or Ghibli, but an auspicious beginning.

PS, in case you didn't know, there was a heavily butchered US version floating around called 'Warriors of the Wind', which is universally reviled as a disgrace. Just to make it confusing, some of the Japanese copies are also called 'Warriors of the Wind'. The thing to look for is the 116 minute running length. If you get that, you've got the right one. At the moment the only way you can get the film is in Japanese dialog with English subtitles. Personally I'd go ahead and do that, rather than wait while Disney squats on the US distribution rights (Amazon gives it a release date of 2010 for God's sake). You can always replace it later.

Good stuff.