One that caught my eye recently and even had itself a 4k re-release was cult anime film Angel’s Egg, written and directed by Mamoru Oshii. I went in essentially blind bar for what I had seen in a trailer, which went all in on what was for its time pretty unique and dark imagery, blending gothicness with a bit of HR Giger—but how does it actually all come together?
With minimal dialogue, the film is all about vibes—and it’s set fairly on, as we follow a mysterious young girl protecting an egg in a desolate, sunless landscape that goes from dead woods to a seemingly haunted city. For a time, she’s alone until she encounters a soldier riding upon half-organic tanks, with a pointedly cross-shaped rifle—and from there, we get a few more clues as to why this nightmare landscape looks the way it does.
The animation itself I dig—all shadows and contrast, with some interesting lighting at times. Some have claimed that the director may have been fighting with depression, and it fits, with scenes of specters chasing shadows to no avail and a feeling of hopelessness hanging over it all. And yes, Christian allegories abound even if Oshii apparently wasn’t a believer—with perhaps a dark twist on one Biblical tale becoming apparent. Bearing in mind this was before something like Evangelion went overboard with that sort of thing.
Of course, all of that means it’s going to have a narrowed audience—and there are a couple of scenes that drag on a bit for seemingly the sake of artsiness. If you can engage with the imagery, you’re set—and the imagery remains memorable enough, be it a giant bizarre demiurge-sphere of statues and clockwork to the final shot itself. If nothing else, it feels like something different, even from this time when Japanese studios could happily splurge on a risky venture as this.
If you like how it sounds, take a look—it was something that inspired later videogames like the ‘Souls’ series from, well, From Software, if that tantalizes anyone. Considering how wild David Lynch impulses can go in something as freeform as animation, that sort too thing is always worth a look to me…
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