Extras
Angel’s Egg – Restored Version
A white-haired girl, an egg and a young wanderer. That was all Mamoru Oshii and the illustrator Yoshitaka Amano needed, ten years before “Ghost in the Shell”, to create a visually stunning, intensely atmospheric science-fiction meditation that leaves room for individual interpretation.
A white-haired young girl moves cautiously through a deserted town. She is carrying a huge egg under her dress. Before long, she comes across a mysterious young man with a cross-shaped weapon. Although he seems harmless, she does not reveal to him what is hidden inside the egg. In fact, the two rarely exchange words – and when they do, there are more questions than answers.
In contrast to the hyper-defined worlds of many contemporary anime, “Angel’s Egg” virtually thrives on gaps and clues that spark our imagination. What is the purpose of the water bottles? Where do the gigantic war machines come from? Why are faceless harpooners stalking the shadows of prehistoric fish?
Ten years before “Ghost in the Shell”, Mamoru Oshii’s fascination with water and wind, as well as philosophy and Christian symbolism, is revealed here. The illustrator Yoshitaka Amano created dark, luminous images in which the viewer can easily lose oneself. Equally atmospheric is the soundtrack, particularly Yoshihiro Kanno’s sacral film score, which is given plenty of space before fading into silence once more – soothing, surprising, yet also unsettling.
Whilst this radical approach almost cost the director his career at the time, the work – originally conceived for video – now presents itself as a hypnotic cinematic experience that is closer to Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” than to a conventional narrative.
A white-haired young girl moves cautiously through a deserted town. She is carrying a huge egg under her dress. Before long, she comes across a mysterious young man with a cross-shaped weapon. Although he seems harmless, she does not reveal to him what is hidden inside the egg. In fact, the two rarely exchange words – and when they do, there are more questions than answers.
In contrast to the hyper-defined worlds of many contemporary anime, “Angel’s Egg” virtually thrives on gaps and clues that spark our imagination. What is the purpose of the water bottles? Where do the gigantic war machines come from? Why are faceless harpooners stalking the shadows of prehistoric fish?
Ten years before “Ghost in the Shell”, Mamoru Oshii’s fascination with water and wind, as well as philosophy and Christian symbolism, is revealed here. The illustrator Yoshitaka Amano created dark, luminous images in which the viewer can easily lose oneself. Equally atmospheric is the soundtrack, particularly Yoshihiro Kanno’s sacral film score, which is given plenty of space before fading into silence once more – soothing, surprising, yet also unsettling.
Whilst this radical approach almost cost the director his career at the time, the work – originally conceived for video – now presents itself as a hypnotic cinematic experience that is closer to Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” than to a conventional narrative.
Info
Duration 71'
Country JP, 1996
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trailer
Curated and moderated by
Oswald Iten