Angel's Egg (1985)

Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi

The film begins with a hands rubbing together, and cracking knuckles.The next scene is similar to one near the end, where a large mechanistic- apparently steam-powered, half-lidded eye, covered in inert statues of what appear to be saints, hovers over the surface of a sea, facing a Christ-like figure, who stands on a checkered surface. The mechanism emits a steam whistle, which appears to wake a young girl.The next section of the film follows the young girl through what appears to be an abandoned, gothic world. She cradles an egg under her dress as if pregnant. Before entering a city, she imagines herself to be fully immersed in water. She collects food and clear glass bulbs from abandoned houses, which she fills with water from a bizarre fountain. Statues of spearmen soon appear and frighten her, but do not animate until later. At some point, she is attracted to the sound of a large procession of what appear to be living tanks. Here enters our Christ-like figure, crucifix in tow, bandaged hands, who appears to have been hitching a ride. This section is characterized by interaction between these 2 characters, as the man follows the girl, inquiring about her egg, while she inquires who he is.While the 2 are becoming fast companions(the girl is unwilling and shy at 1st), the spearmen animate in order to track down shadows of sarcopterygian fish, a nearly extinct genera. This is the most action packed sequence in the film. The couple takes shelter in what appears to be a church, where the girl glows in the presence of a very colorful stained-glass fish, distinctly different from what attracts the spearmen.The 2 find their way into what appears to be a giant ark, which is full of water bulbs and giant fossils, where the man relates a modified version of the flood story from Genesis 8. Of interest is an etching on the wall of what appears to be a phylogenetic tree, or tree of life. The girl connects the dove from the story to the egg she bears, and shows the man, who questions his identity and memory, the fossil of the dove, which appears to have anthropological characters.By now, the girl seems to be quite comfortable with her companion, so she falls asleep in his presence. He uses the opportunity to brake open her egg with his crucifix tool. She wakes in anguish, and sets after him desperately. As he comes into sight, she plunges into a chasm, and as she strikes the reservoir at the bottom, is transmogrified into her older, mature self, whose exhalation of bubbles surfaces as eggs.After the breaking of the egg, the landscape is covered with giant roots which cradle unborn chicks. The man is then seen as before, facing the mechanistic eye as it emerges from the waters, but with our girl numbered amongst its saints-skin. The film ends as the entire landscape is slowly revealed to be an island in the middle of a vast sea, which bears a striking resemblance to the hull of an overturned ship.
  • 1985-12-15 Released:
  • N/A DVD Release:
  • N/A Box office:
  • N/A Writer:
  • Mamoru Oshii Director:
  • N/A Website:

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