Cinema Sonnets #3 - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - featuring Josh Datko

Three sonnets based on Miyazaki's classic film

This is the third installment of Cinema Sonnets, a series where I ask fellow substack poets to pick a film, which we will both subsequently watch, meditate on, and use as inspiration for poetry.

For this episode I’ve asked

Josh Datko

from

bitpunk.fm

to pick a film for us to use as inspiration for poetry.

Here’s how it works:

• We will both watch a film (of Josh’s choosing)

• Individually create a sonnet after watching

• Share our sonnets with each other

• And lastly, collaborate on a final sonnet — dividing a quatrain and a tercet each

The goal of this experiment is to share a great cinematic experience, use cinema as a meditative tool for creating poetry, and also to collaborate —working on a poem together as well as separately, starting from the same base-concept.

Nausicaä

The movie Josh chose was Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki from 1984.

Though this classic film is now often associated with Studio Ghibli, it was actually made before Studio Ghibli was even founded. The movie can be seen as a precursor for what was to come and was also Miyazaki’s first collaboration with legendary composer Joe Hisaishi.

The film is set in a post-nuclear future where we follow the main character, Nausicaä, the princess of the valley of the wind, who is a pacifistic and nature-loving ruler.

Involuntarily, she becomes embroiled in a conflict with a neighboring empire called Tolmeika, that wishes to use an ancient weapon to eradicate what is known as the forest of decay — a jungle populated by mutated insects, which is poisonous for humans to enter without protective masks.

Nausicaä is a film that shares many themes with Josh’s writing — beautifully depicting the horrors of war and the importance of preserving nature, all told through a fantastical lens.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is a wonderful film that still holds up very well to this day, and is a fundamental part of Miyazaki’s filmography. A great choice from Josh!

Now join us in our journey of turning this precursor to Studio Ghibli into sonnets!

First Nausicaä Sonnet

Warrior of the wind
by Josh Datko

O Nausicaä, warrior of the wind,
princess of peace, dove of the endless sky,
save us from ourselves — in this world we've sinned.
The edge of the toxic jungle is nigh.

Nausicaä, charmer of the giant Ohm,
will you ever forgive us for the pain
that we've set sail abroad and at home?
We seek war while the Earth is still in bane.

Princess, don't sacrifice yourself for us!
Angered insects are in the valley now
yet we fight our own; nothing to discuss.

We've piked up the pike and put down the plough.
We've taken a child; provoking their rage —
can we be free from this, a hateful cage?

Second Nausicaä Sonnet

Nesting Ohms
by Rasmus Rosenkrantz

Chants of a repressed childhood memory,
linger in golden fields, where peace once reigned.
Nesting ohms hide in forests of decay —
Echoes of rage drown out their melody.

Clothed in blue robes, our princess of the wind,
descends onto blooming fields of past fears—
Armed with bravery gathered through the years,
to shield herself from wounds, she holds within.

To the God of wind, we've sent our prayers.
Still, we mourn the seven evenings of fire,
and fear the forest that poisons the air.

It is no wonder the world stood in flames —
In man's inner, there's a rage still burning
for waging wars against those whose to blame.

Third Nausicaä Sonnet

Hope of the Valley
by Josh Datko (1st, 3rd stanza)
& Rasmus Rosenkrantz (2nd, 4th stanza)

O Nausicaä, blue jay of the valley,
a false god warrior we raised today.
Hope in humanity must we soon rally,
bitten the apple; we are nature's prey.

With a stern hand, you heal this poisoned land,
turning the tides of human treachery.
With a pure heart, you alone understand,
that nature doesn't feed on toxicity.

Valley of the Wind, will us you forgive?
We let tanks tread over the burned and bled —
Can we find the balance? A way to live?

The flames swallow all that is green and blue,
as the stampede of ohm's continues on.
O Nausicaä — Nature's fate lies with you!

Final Reflections

Josh:

Why Nausicaä?

Hayao Miyazaki refused to accept the Oscar for Spirited Away in person as a protest for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. In a 2015 interview on the DVD for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Miyazaki commented that it was his most optimistic film, but he thought the situation hasn’t changed much. Although he didn’t clarify in the interview, I presume he was speaking of the themes of Nausicaä, which among others include pacifism and environmentalism.

Sadly, the situation has not improved. From Ukraine, to Gaza, to Sudan and countless ongoing conflicts, we feel hate, vengeance, and fear. Tanks, jets, and ships burn oil while others protest the use of fossil fuels. Increasing military conflict and our desire for sustainability are mutually exclusive. But, as with many of Studio Ghibli’s films, there is always another way. Miyazaki shows us, through the bravery and creativity of a young woman, that there is a path to peace.

Though Nausicaä was released in 1984, I believe it is the film of our time. It ultimately is a film about hope and the shedding of pride, like an insect shell, that’s required for us to grow. I wish for us all to have daughters like Nausicaä, curious and courageous.

On the Cinema Sonnet Project and Process

It’s funny to note that, I’ve been translating a series called The Bloody Sonnets, but in doing so, I’ve been completely destroying the sonnet form. So, I was a bit intimidated to write one myself. However, I did try to bring that Bloody Sonnet energy to the poem and I think that helped me get into it. But this is a really nice thing that Rasmus is doing.

I really like the collaboration style he suggested where there is a back and forth of alternating verses. It brings a kind of improvisation and jazz feel to the effort. Having both (re)watched the film in this case, we circled around a landing strip like a glider and I then felt we stuck the landing together.

Rasmus’ poetry lately has such a strong connection with other art forms. Here, of course, it was film, but he is often incorporating paintings and other visual art. And I think in this experience it has reinforced the power of poetry to uplift and elevate other media, in a way that is translating that medium to a poetic form.

So, I’m not sure I want to go out and sing some more sonnets, but I will now hold them in a new light. I think when we want to exalt an idea, the sonnet perhaps can help structure this idea in a nice way. Thank you, Rasmus, for that.

Rasmus:

On collaborating with Josh

Working with Josh was a great opportunity to explore themes of war and the importance of preserving nature. These are themes instrumental to Josh's poetry, but that I have yet to explore a lot in my own writing.

The advantage of collaborating with other writers is that everyone can bring something new to the table. This is the fourth collaboration I've done for cinema, and so far the texts produced have all been widely different.

Josh primarily writes in the free verse form, but was open to adapting his writing to fit the sonnet form. From the sonnets Josh produced you couldn't tell his inexperience. The expressive nature of his writing beautifully mixed with the sonnet form, and I hope to see him use the form again sometime in the future.

Nausicaä is also a film that's of great importance to Josh, so he had a lot to tell. Though we write in different styles I feel our individual sonnets complement each other well, and that our collaborative sonnet also summarizes a lot of the themes we both introduced.

Another great thing Josh brought to the table was his incredible voiceover, which features the beautiful music of Joe Hisaishi. This addition from Josh elevated the poems we created, and I thank him for taking the time to make it!

Writing sonnets for Nausicaä

This was my first time writing within this format, using a film that I had already seen. Though I've preferred going in blind to these collaborations in the past, I made an exception here due to the impact Nausicaä has had on Josh, and also the great overlap the movie has with his poetry.

I'm a big fan of Miyazaki's work and Studio Ghibli films are great choices for poetry. It had been a while since I watched Nausicaä before this collaboration, so it was a nice chance to revisit it.

What I enjoy a lot about Miyazaki's filmmaking is how he has a very nuanced way of depicting human conflicts. There are strong antiwar messages in most of his work, but he also goes to great lengths to showcase how humans often bring about destruction with the best of intentions.

In the film the neighboring empire, Tolmeika, wishes to save the world, but they do so driven by hate and a will to destroy. Instead Nausicaä is the one who holds the key to saving humanity, as she understands that in order for humans to live alongside nature it's necessary to find a balance.

These themes ended up forming the majority of our poems’ content, where as the imagery had a more fantastical nature, also in great part thanks to the film. Adapting Miyazaki’s work into poetry was a great honour, and definitely something I would enjoy doing again in the future.

A big thank you to

Josh Datko

for partaking in this collaboration. I hope you all enjoy these sonnets, and if you've somehow never watched Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, I'd highly recommend it!

*Cover art and all media used in this post was taken from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind from 1984 by Hayao Miyazaki. Production company: Topcraft.