Despite growing up in a post-apocalyptic world riddled with war and pollution, Princess Nausicaä has acquired an otherworldly communion with the natural world and a saint-like adoration from the local populace. Drawing on inspiration from a world of myth and science fiction, Miyazaki’s fantastic tale sealed his fate as a master animator of realms where beautiful, toxic spores fall like snow upon the corpses of giant insects, where a medieval-esque society behaves judiciously and harmoniously while honoring the wisdom of children, elders, witches and wizards, and where Nausicaä flies freely through the air on her glider, performing outrageous feats, and winning the hearts and minds of all species as she attempts to save her valley from destruction and discover the secrets of the forest. Unlike most superheroes, Nausicaä acts out of compassion and a belief in an inherent goodness and balance in the universe, that it is fear and alienation, not evil, which drives war and ecological disharmony. 
Age recommendation: 12+

Also screening at the Brattle Theatre on Wednesday April 17 at 8:30pm.