Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) AND Princess Mononoke (1997)
We can consider these two
Hayao Miyazaki films together, since
Mononoke is one level a refinement of the ideas in
Nausicaa. Both are environmental films which do not guilt-trip or shame their audiences. Instead they are concerned with the concept of stewardship, of humanitys responsibility to care for and live in harmony with the planet as well as using it for appropriate ends. The later also had a nuanced and powerful messianic allegory in the shape of the Deer God, who first looms large and threateningly, but then lays down his life so that the forest has another chance of life.
O Lucky Man! (1973)
As with
If., the second part of
Lindsay Andersons Mick Travis trilogy is more concerned with the hypocrisy of Christian organisations than with any potential hypocrisy of the teachings of Christ. The entire film is a 20th-century
Pilgrims Progress, with commercial gain standing in for the pursuit of spiritual fulfilment. But the film also finds the time to expose the judgemental attitude of the Salvation Army and the arrogance of evangelism. It also concludes with Anderson making a self-referential cameo as a God-like film director, who hits
Malcolm McDowell with a very heavy script.
Porco Rosso (1992)
Hayao Miyazaki's third entry on this list is a lot lighter and breezier than either Nausicaa or Mononoke, but it deserves inclusion for a spectacular dream sequence. Having been chased by fascist pilots, Marco passes out and climbs above the clouds. He sees other planes float up to join a belt of planes above, and we realise we are seeing a glimpse of the afterlife. Recalling W. B. Yeats' poem
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, the sequence conveys a sense of elegiac resignation towards life and death, with the pilots leaving the horrors of the Earth behind to float forever in the skies they loved.
Senna (2011)
The only documentary included on this list is an early candidate for the best film of 2011. Asif Kapadias nail-biting look at the life and death of F1 racing driver Ayrton Senna has themes of spirituality and redemption running right through it. Not only is Senna hailed as God in his home country of Brazil, certain sections involving the politics of F1 paint him as Gods lonely man in a temple full of money-dealers. But the film doesnt make out that Senna is a saint: his relationship with God is troubled and the freak nature of his death leads to more questions than answers.