Angel's Egg

Released 22nd December 1985, Angel’s Egg follows a girl’s journey across a dystopian landscape with a precious egg in her possession. Naturally, by proxy of being a film, Angel’s Egg is a work of art; however, the atmosphere created shapes the film into something which avoids direct themes and messages to instead present itself as a glorified mood board. That said, the film is definitely a strong mood board; there is a strong visual darkness through its neo-gothic atmosphere with only the simply named ‘Girl’ being of any discernible brightness. While it is definitively more subjective than most other films I have watched, I recognised themes of human greed after reflecting on the film – on the other hand religion stuck out to me as a strong undercurrent throughout my viewing.

From various visual cues to angels and a crucifix to a literal retelling of Noah’s Ark, the narrative occurs on the mould of the Christian faith – albeit with draconian subversions along the way. The director himself has gone on record saying that he had previously lost his faith to creating the film and therefore communicates his cynicism and aforementioned draconian mindset through ‘Boy’. ‘Boy’ is voiced by Jinpachi Nezu and speaks most of the film’s (extraordinarily) limited dialogue with a monotonous stoicism that helps to deliver on this character not believing what he says to the significantly younger ‘Girl’. Similarly, to ‘Boy’, ‘Girl’ also expels a sense of melancholy through Mako Hyōdō’s monotonous, high pitched delivery; whereas ‘Boy’ conveys a weary, experienced vocal quality, ‘Girl’s is instead one of unease and naivety towards the world she faces.

As stated, the animation lends a neo-gothic atmosphere to the film with its delicate colour palette and gothic landscaping. The way that the characters are animated also aids their melancholy vocalisations without looking choppy or overtly lazy *cough* Anne Frank’s Diary *cough*. Yoshihiro Kanno is able to take the religious atmosphere and frequently utilise an operatic choir to convey scale and emotion in the applied scenes as well as a constant tension through the voices’ emotive tones. Overall, Angel’s Egg encompasses such a broad yet unique interpretation of faith which truly feels like a spiritual journey unto itself; if not a little too broad in it’s interpretations…