In the Aftermath

Tripped over this movie on late night TV after a hard shift at work. Caught it just after the intro credits and wondered what it was about. The anime caught me off guard as I had gone to get a coffee and sandwich and thought the film had ended and was surprised to find it hadn't. The music caught my attention more than anything else. There is a classic piece played on the piano by one of the main characters which I have since discovered was not written for the movie as I had first thought. I'd like to track this piece down as it kept me watching the movie to the end. Some of the anime scenes have a haunting imagery to them which the music again complements well.

In this experimental animation and live action hybrid post-apocalyptic indie film you really need to have a taste for such films as they are not done with your traditional story and filmmaking aesthetics. For some, the film does meander and seem to be unfocused but it has an interesting concept especially if you're able to appreciate it. It is definitely not for everyone especially those who have never seen the animated film Angel's Egg (I still haven't yet). The performances are not strong but that doesn't really take away from the film, overall, This being said, the visuals are interesting and for the most part, this avant garde film is easy to follow.

An unnamed time, an unnamed place, probably Australia given the accents. The earth is dying from a poisoned atmosphere, in this post-apocalyptic live action / anime /art house crossover. The remains of humanity scour the surface in search of hope, until one of them is found by an angel.

It's bizarre, the animated sequences are nicely designed, but suffers from a lack of frames. The live-action is well done for low-budget stuff, and the integration is pretty minimal, but the whole sort-of works.

Being a fan of animes (i.e., Japanese animation), I am familiar with the movie 'Angel's Egg' by Mamoru Oshii. Some time ago, a friend told me there was a movie which had used scenes from that anime: 'In The Aftermath'. After some research I managed to get a copy of that film...

I didn't have high expectations, but that experience was far beyond my worst nightmares. I've never seen a piece of art (and I mean 'Angel's Egg'!) being torn to pieces in such a radical way. About 30 min. of the original anime footage were used for 'In The Aftermath'. The rest of the film consists of live sequences that have been done so poorly it just hurts: C-class movie actors stumbling around with gas masks in a deserted chemical factory most of the time, special effects that don't deserve the name, and a 'story' that tries desperately to bring some sense to a plot that was never meant to have any sense at all (sounds strange, doesn't it? Go on and you'll know what I mean).

The anime 'Angel's Egg' in my opinion is a real masterpiece. You may like it or not, but everybody who has seen this movie agrees that it is something unique. However, its director Mamoru Oshii admitted in several interviews that even he didn't know what its story was about - if there was any at all.

Obviously, Carl Colpaert decided to add that lacking sense by combining some of the anime sequences with a real movie to create 'In The Aftermath'. He failed miserably. The combination doesn't work at all. If it would have been an attempt to create a parody, it would just have been annoying. But this movie was an honest attempt to improve the Japanese original, and that's what really makes it so bad.

According to IMDB, 'In The Aftermath' was the first movie Carl Colpaert ever directed. I sincerely hope that he (or anybody else) may never try something like that again...

I watched this film firstly when I was 4 or 5 years old. I didn't really know what I was watching in the early 90s. I just remember that half was animated and half was a horrible barren wasteland with not many people and a man playing piano wearing a gas mask. The song played by the man wearing a gas mask whilst the woman watches is called Veni Gabriel by Horacio Moscovici who was by chance in Buenos Aires, whilst playing at a bar, approached by the director who happened to be there. He was asked to write the score to the movie. This was in 1986 or so. Since google existing, I looked up this movie and watched again and how it bares a resemblance to what happens to day. I just got off the phone to Horacio Moscovici now where he is in Argentina. I have been playing piano for 25 years or slightly more now.

It is strange how a movie can be made but as time passes have a little more meaning than it did before. Sometimes humanity isnt ready for movies made yet. Sure the movie is low budget but then again so are a lot of the best theatre performances. Sometimes you have to put aside the fact that there isnt complicated CGI sequences like Lord of the Rings or the pyrotechnics of Saving Private Ryan and see a movie for what it is.

Look up Del Nido al Vuelo - Horacio Moscovi - the whole album is brilliant stuff and piano that is not your usual Bach or Beethoven.