Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no tani no Naushika) (1984)

Posted : 1 year, 5 months ago at Jun 14 15:13

Hayao Miyazaki's environmentalist streak is apparent again in this post-apocaplyptic action adventure. The young Princess Nausicaä searches for the cause of her land's suffering and teaches us a thing or two about saving our planet along the way.

Rating : 9/10

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago at Sep 15 7:12

Yeah well the phrase ‘being eaten alive by insects’ takes on a whole new meaning here. Made in 1984 this film is set 1 000 years into the future after our planet has been poisoned and made toxic by humans. The very spunky Princess Nausicaä leads the battle front on about three angles at any one time, so things can get intertwined and complicated, but don’t be put off. I love the way enemies can become allies in a matter of moments when Nausicaä is around. This film is definitely worth seeing.

Posted : 2 years, 6 months ago at May 12 17:12

This is an amazing film. All of Miyazaki's trademarks can be found in this film. His obsession with flying, humanity fighting each other but eventually blossoming throughout times of war and uncertainty, a strong female protagonist, beautiful locations and enchanting forests, it's all there to see. I always think his films like this might be too much for children to watch, but it certainly makes them more appealing to somebody like me!

I was really very impressed with how he can convey such dark themes in a childs film. The action is non-stop and there is some fantastic voice acting. At times it is obvious that the plot is cherry picked from a much larger story, but at the end of the day you won't be unimpressed with this film. Especially is you liked Princess Mononoke.

Rating : 8/10

Posted : 2 years, 6 months ago at May 11 7:29

A captivating post appocalyptic story from around the Mad Max era. It does seem a little long, and younger kids might get restless watching, but with the utterly stunning, bedazzling visuals and sensitive character interaction it makes for a beautiful and moving animated experience like you would only expect with master Miyazaki. If that is a bit gushy fanboy sounding well ok, I can live with that. If you're just getting into anime film and you've watched Akira or something, Hayao Miyazaki should be your next port of call.

Rating : 9/10