Angel's Egg (1985)

A mysterious young girl wanders a desolate, otherworldly landscape, carrying a large egg.

Director:

Mamoru Oshii

Writers:

Yoshitaka Amano (story), Mamoru Oshii (screenplay)

Stars:

Mako Hyôdô, Jinpachi Nezu, Kei'ichi Noda

Cast

Credited cast:
Mako Hyôdô	...	Girl (voice)
Jinpachi Nezu	...	Boy (voice)
Kei'ichi Noda	...	Narrator

Storyline

a young girl is the sole protector of a very precious, large egg. her lair is near a large, abandoned, decaying gothic city inhabited by restless shadows. a mysterious young man arrives one day, and eventually wins her trust. they converse sparsely about obscure philosophical and theological topics, and she shows him some astonishing fossils and works of historic and scientific art. the ending is a bit shocking, and very ambiguous, leaving many unanswered questions and tons of room for interpretation.

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Plot Keywords:

avant garde | girl | egg | gothic | adult animation | 

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Genres:

Animation | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

22 December 1985 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Angel's Egg

Company Credits

Production Co:

Studio DEEN,Tokuma Shoten

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fish the fishermen hunt are Coelacanth.

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Quotes

Boy: I've seen a tree like this somewere... When was it? So long ago that I've forgotten... Under a sky where the clouds made sound as they moved. The black horizon swelled and from it grew a huge tree. It sucked the life from the ground... And it's pulsing branches reached up, as if to grasp something...

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Alternate Versions

In the South Korean version, all the names are in Chinese character form, but the status ranking is in hangul though. The Japanese version slightly changed the Korean names.

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Connections

References Solaris (1971)

User Reviews

Masterpiece

This is an amazing movie.. it's surreal, ambiguous, atmospheric and haunting. Many (including myself) consider it to be Mamoru Oshii's best film (despite it being his least successful), and it certainly presents some of the images and ideas that would be echoed in many of his later works.

That some people suggest to watch it with your own choice in music may seem to suggest that the film's own soundtrack is lacking, but this is not the case. The haunting soundtrack is perfect for the film, and one of the many things I love about it. The highly visual nature of the film does lend itself to trying out different music combinations, though (I watched it along side Radiohead's "Kid A", with fascinating results). Just don't count out the film's own score, as it definitely contributes to the film's brilliance.

The dialogue, though there's not much of it, is also worth paying attention to (if you can understand Japanese or have access to subtitles - try searching for them on the net if you have the official DVD, I've heard you can add subtitles that will play as if they were on the disc). While the characters and plot are certainly ambiguous, you will probably (if you're interested in the film) find yourself theorising about what the film is getting at, particularly after multiple viewings. The fact that Oshii lost his faith in Christianity before making the film certainly offers an interesting perspective from which it can be viewed.

How much you enjoy the film will be determined by your personal taste (it's probably a "love it or hate it" film in a similar way to '2001: A Space Odyssey') but few can watch it without at least conceding that it is a unique work of art. Track this down if think a surreal, moody, atmospheric, thought provoking film will be to your taste (and look for an official widescreen DVD, not a bootleg 4x3 copy, the visuals are worth the extra cost).