Tenshi no tamago

Director Mamoru Oshii's 1985 film Angel's Egg was a fine example of the themes that would define his movies to come. Like his later films, Ghost in the Shell, Beautiful Dreamer, Patlabor and Avalon, Angel's Egg is a lush visual landscape filled with beautiful, mystifying (and often stupefying) imagery. The story involves a young girl who is highly possessive of an oversized egg from which, she believes, will hatch a beautiful bird. She wanders a dark and empty world clinging to the egg waiting endlessly for the moment to arrive. You are given the feeling that this world has existed for hundreds or thousands of years, maybe forever. The girl has also existed forever, waiting and dreaming. Into this dark world, wanders a soldier(?). From the very beginning his intentions seem ominous but never definite. The girl is initially afraid of the man but eventually they join forces and wander the bizarre landscape together, pontificating about the world around them until his purpose is made clear. Almost all of Oshii's films rely on an immense amount of Christian mythology. Angel's Egg is the most obvious. Filled with an oppressively moody and pensive atmosphere, it is all visual and very little story. The entire script only totals about a paragraph, the rest of the film is all atmosphere and tension building. This, however, is it's greatest strength. All the themes of Noah's flood, birth, death and rebirth are obvious even if we don't have characters to explain them. You are drawn into the world of the naive young girl by her innocence. You want to see the egg hatch and find out what's inside. You want to know the thoughts of the soldier and his true intentions. Some questions are answered, most are not. Oshii was wise to end the film early. (It clocks in at only a little over an hour.) Weather this was for financial reasons or for reasons of plot, it keeps you from becoming bored with the story no matter how thin it may be. The film is certainly not going to appeal to everyone. Most viewers will certainly be befuddled by the lack of a definite linear plot, but if you thrive on the philosophical or purely visual experience this film is a must.

THE ANGEL'S EGG (1985) is a lovely collaboration by Japanese cinema and anime pioneer Mamoru Oshii (later to direct PATLABOR and GHOST IN THE SHELL) and truly gifted illustrator Yoshitaka Amano (VAMPIRE HUNTER D and FINAL FANTASY). Oshii's work is reminiscent of David Lynch's in many ways, it's always slow, offbeat and either works (most of his anime films) or doesn't (his cold and artificial live action film AVALON). THE ANGEL'S EGG is paced very akin to a David Lynch film. Like ERASERHEAD, it feels like about 10 minutes of plot stretched out to over an hour and while it does share that film's sense of the bizarre, it's effect is less Lynch's dread and more akin to the cold but beautiful tranquility of Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.

THE ANGEL'S EGG is amazing barrage of gorgeous visuals that slowly creep up on the screen for one to admire. It's images of egg-carrying little girls walking across a destitute landscape, strange, orb-shaped machines, ancient skeletons and villagers spearing illusionary fish which they will never catch (perhaps a metaphor for religious fanaticism) are truly lovely. The animation is beautiful and it translates Amano's visions, of a world not of the past, present or future that looks equal parts medieval and post apocalyptic, the best of any animation rooted in his worlds. One can choose to see the film for its metaphors, but one is more recommended to simply sit back and enjoy the lovely, painterly images that flash before your eyes.

If you are expecting something furiously paced and full of action and violence like many other anime films, you will be let down and the film is not recommended. It's the closest Japanese animated film to being a true art-house film and is recommended to be approached with that mentality. Simply sit back for an hour or so and let this film take you to its vivid world. Highly recommended for lovers of artistic and intelligent animation.

This movie requires more work than most people are willing to put in, and ultimately is a useful tool to gauge one's own film expectations.

Where some complain of pace, I was content to listen to the glorious music (as even the characters on screen did) and allow it to tell me the story.

Only after I was forced to view a still image for an interminable amount of time, and feel the anger rise up in me as I imagined the creators of the film laughing at me, did I notice that it created the necessary tension for what was the climax of the film.

I enjoyed having to pay attention to the details of the film, such as how loud the running water was, and what happened when that volume changed; such as whose perspective was I looking from at a particular moment and why; such as why the image persisted but the sound did not, or vice versa; such as why the floor in the beginning looks like a chess board, and who seemed to win at the end.

The less you enjoy thinking about these things, the less you will enjoy this film about shattered innocence, life, death, birth, dreams, causality, and memory.

Tenshi no Tamago - Angel's Egg - is a very rare type of movie. It is a movie that does not spell the plot out in big bold type. Instead the meaning of the story is told in symbolic imagery and left to the viewer to interpret and understand. Some believe it tells of the director's own loss of faith in religion, and society's blind devotion to belief in mythical and imaginary things.

The film's visuals are utterly beautiful, with designs from Yoshitaka Amano, and with Mamoru Oshii's breath-taking direction in full force. The soundtrack too is sublime, composed by Yoshihiro Kanno and one of only a few he ever composed for movies.

Films as meaningful, thoughtful, and beautiful as this should never be missed. If you value the art form of cinema, then watch Angel's Egg and be amazed. If you prefer wall to wall explosions then look elsewhere.

This masterpiece by Mamoru Oshii (Character designs by the great Yoshitaka Amano) is really one of a kind, thought provoking, artistic almost in a style of Dali and other great artists. The dark atmosphere and the inexplicable happenings bring Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey to my mind. There isn't much dialogue in the film, which is in my opinion a great decision. If you're into anime, especially the Mamoru Oshii stylish "slow and atmospheric" anime, this is a must see. I might even say this is one of the great classics in the history of anime although this title might be quite unknown to all. Really recommended!