Angel’s Egg

• Japanese: 天使のたまご, Hepburn: Tenshi no Tamago
• Written and Directed by Mamoru Oshii
• December 15, 1985

Voice Cast

• Boy-Justice Slocum
• Girl-Brianna Knickerbocker

A young girl protecting a strange egg meets a boy dreaming about a bird.

I was drawn to Angel’s Egg based on reports of its rerelease. They stated it had not been widely seen in years while also conveying some giddy excitement when written by those familiar with it. Then there was the title that just sounds so weird to me. What I found was something difficult to describe yet deeply enjoyable.

I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it, and I don’t think I will ever again. It’s nothing that fits into a neat box. It’s very experimental yet not truly inaccessible. It barely tells a story while feeling like a full-fledged film because it satisfies in so many ways.

Its plot is just what I wrote to open this post and nothing more. It is minimal dialogue with stunning visuals. This is a movie that you will be thinking about long after you watch and maybe even sparking debate amongst you and your friends who have viewed it as well. Aside from the use of ‘angel’ in the title, there are Biblical allusions throughout along with just generally ambiguous visuals.

Like shadows of large fish (whales?) gliding across the post-apocalyptic landscape as the Girl walks looking like a pregnant woman because of the egg under her dress. It hints at depth but is darkly beautiful.

There is something distinctly haunting about Egg. Not just music, nor is it just the scarcity of dialogue. It is a visually poetic science-fiction fantasy that uses a unique look and the distinct style of sound design common in Japanese animation of the time to grab your mind for 71 or so minutes.

What does anything you see mean? What is the real intent of what is being said? Writer/director Mamoru Oshii does an excellent job of leaving that up to the viewer leading my cynical side to think it all means nothing. At least nothing concrete and I am okay with that because this transcends into genuine art.

One question left up in the air is how the girl came to believe that the egg she cares for belongs to an angel. I’m curious if this could be something apparent to Japanese audiences based on culture. Ghosts, demons, and dragons can change meaning and interpretations depending on what part of the world you are in. Annoying but with so much else in the movie it does not matter.

Also pretty vague is the mission of the Boy. My use of ‘dreaming’ in the opening sentence could be seen as generous since nothing can be really pinned down. For the purposes of the story, it is just for things to get a little bit stranger. He carries with him what looks like a walking stick that looks like a cross though carried like an anime sword or in the way opposite Jesus would have needed to carry the cross.

At times it evokes 2001: A Space Odyssey with strange and inexplicable events happening. It is deep and philosophical in that it causes deep thought and contemplation. It gets the mind going by being very open to interpretation.

I don’t know quite what to make of Angel’s Egg. That’s not a negative. It’s just a unique movie unlike any other animated film I’ve ever seen. After viewing you will be left thinking about it because it is that different. Highly recommended.