Quando o Vento Sopra

Jim and Hilda are two English retirees, living in a cottage in the country. War with Russia seems imminent and Jim starts taking precautions against a nuclear attack. Remembering World War 2, Jim and Hilda staunchly believe that everything will be okay, even if nuclear weapons are involved. But will it?

Powerful, poignant anti-war movie. Mixes nonchalance and English laugh-in-the-face of danger humour with some incredibly shocking reminders of the effects of nuclear war. Funny and terrifying, all at the same time.

Quite emotional too. We see flashes of Jim and Hilda's history, the life they had, the simplicity and innocence of their existence and how this is shattered.

This is a film you will never forget. I watched it as a teenager expecting something soppy and sentimental (it was made by some of the same people who made the Snowman, a Christmas tale featuring the chorister Aled Jones).

John Mills is superb as the male character, his voice carries the echoes of his former glories as hero, officer type and all round good guy. With lavish casting, animation and soundtrack the plot is given a painful intensity.

Instead my family were treated to horror of the worst kind. A horror that deals with ordinary comfortable society. The two lovely elderly characters are my grandparents, my neighbours. We see them crumble and disintegrate in the nuclear aftermath. They prepare cheerfully for a nuclear war and wait helplessly in the fallout for a rescue which will never come.

Don't watch it with your parents, you will cry and be reminded about it for years afterwards.

There are very few films that attempt to realistically describe life after the bomb. If it is a Hollywood production, there has to be an optimistic ending - take "the day after" with a simple but uplifting message: some will die, there will be personal tragedy, yes - but we'll make it under the guidance of our government.

This film takes a different approach: the format (animated) and the setting (rural England) perfectly match the soothing government messages: build a shelter, keep some food and drink - you'll be alright.

But then the story is continued through to the (very painful) end: there is no more government, there is no more mailman, there is

no more you....

This cartoon is not for children; it should not even be for adults as well, but it is a grim reminder of what could have been (and what might still be) if we are not vigilant as civil human beings on this planet. The best nuclear holocaust film since Hiroshima shows us the gradual breakdown of a lovely old couple in the English countryside after a nuclear exchange. It reminds us there are no winners in a nuclear war. The cartoon is described highly inaccurately by IMDB as a comedy. The word comedy and nuclear war should never be used in the same sentence. It is a drama and a tragedy of the highest order. Please fix this outrageous description, despite a few weak attempts at humor by the characters.

An elderly couple (Hilda and Jim -- voiced by Peggy Ashcroft and John Mills) -- who have experienced WWII -- prepare for a nuclear war believing every word that the government says and expecting a short and happy outcome should the worst happen.

I have watched a lot of movies and I expect to watch a lot more movies before I am through, but I won't see anything quite like this one. If you think you have seen everything and had everything possible thrown at you from a TV/Cinema screen -- then think again.

When The Wind Blows must be the most disturbing film I have ever seen -- and it is a low budget cartoon with a PG certificate! The movie starts by playing for laughs and introducing us to the daily routine of our elderly couple.They are living in the past and think of war in a kindly way. This is to soften us up for what follows -- and what follows will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Having your emotions manipulated by cinema is nothing new, but this film uses real government information and very real scenarios.

If only more people could see this film and debate the messages it contains we would have a safer and better world.