“Angel’s Egg”
The means of filmmaking, or art as a whole, serve as a gateway between cultures, places, and religions, using the attractive nature of multimedia as a tool to construct messages that intend to inspire different nations and people to spread similar messages, while using the stories of the creator’s local areas to relate to a larger theme. One of the most prevalent examples of countries using film to spread messages across oceans comes in the form of anime, a style of Japanese animation that, since its origin, has become a global phenomenon, pushing the boundaries of storytelling to elaborate on messages that not only appeal to Japanese culture, but to the cultures of other countries. In the 1985 anime film, Angel’s Egg, director Mamoru Oshii uses a depiction of post-war Japan to allegorically depict the biblical stories and ideals, bridging a gap between Japanese beliefs and the rest of the world’s culture.
Oshii’s cult classic follows a young girl traveling across a post-apolocalyptic, underwater town, carrying an egg with unknown contents, while oddly accompanied by a man that will not share his identity. Though the first act is absent of much dialogue, the curators of the film fill the first twenty minutes with beautifully drawn landscapes and spiritually driven music that allows the audience to openly interpret in an empowering and open space mentally. With little knowledge of any of the two characters and their motives, we are left to make hypotheses regarding the symbolism of the egg, the man’s cross, and the backdrop of the dystopian civilization they are inhabiting. With prior knowledge of anime, as well as Oshii’s upbringing, it is easy for audiences to assume the story revolves around the aftermath of Japan following the events of World War II, displaying the remnants of the country after the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, when you look deeper into the symbolic nature of the film, it becomes transparent that this story goes beyond the history of Japan, but rather illustrates an interpretation of a famous biblical tale, uniting different cultures that may not necessarily be familiar with Japanese culture, religion, and beliefs.
As the story begins to unfold within the second half of the film, the girl holds this beloved egg within her custody, with the mysterious and invulnerable man following her, denying to admit who he is and why the egg is so significant. When they reach the ruins of a seemingly ancient and significant building, the man confesses that the egg holds a holy bird of sorts that he believed would come following the demolition of mankind. He then tells her that, similarly to the Bible, Noah came and built the arc that would house two of each living creature, and that the bird would come to save mankind from its eternal extinction. From the perspective of the man, the egg, or the bird, is his perception of God, who would come and bring eternal life to all of mankind. However, as time slowly passes throughout the film, the two characters gain more trust and familiarity with each other through delicate dialogue, simple gestures, and careful compassion, which changes the man’s perception of what he’s truly chasing.
At first, the man was a guarded and silent person with a hard shell, not allowing for the girl to get to his true identity and personality. It becomes apparent, though, that he has lost everything, with gloomy colors and disastrous set design that seamlessly landscape the fragility and emptiness of their society, which ultimately lead the audience to an evident conclusion that this man is alone and hasn’t had it easy following the destruction of man. Holding onto that much suffering and pain is no small task, and his journey with the little girl begins to knock on his tough outer shell that withholds his suffering, and thus withholds his true identity. This girl brought a sense of gentleness, grace, and sorrow to his angered and broken soul that has lacked any mercy in recent memory, and all of a sudden a spark for livelihood becomes kindled. This phenomenon makes us as an audience wonder whether or not he was chasing the egg or the girl.
The duality of his pursuit poses a powerful metaphor of the story of Noah’s Arc, by using the egg as a symbol for worldly desires that mankind became so obsessive of, whereas the girl signifies God, and how turning to God will spark eternal life for mankind. Then, the man’s ability to become so vulnerable with the girl showcases one of the most powerful and triumphant parts of Christianity, which is giving yourself up to God. God eliminated mankind because mankind was possessed by sin, and was unwilling to turn their lives over to God, and He decided that He would give eternal life to mankind when they prove that they are ready. The first step to proving to God that you are ready to receive His eternal life and grace is allowing yourself to become vulnerable with God, and allow Him to do His work without worry and without distraction or appraisal of worldly desires. When the man begins to become vulnerable, he realizes that perhaps that’s how he’s supposed to be. That gentleness and grace that he received from the girl was the gift he was seeking within the bird that he was chasing after, which opens his eyes to what he has been praising this whole time. The egg, or the bird, was never what he was supposed to be chasing, as it is a worldly desire that mankind is told to stay away from, and when he sacrifices his vulnerability, God was able to recognize that mankind is ready for eternal life.
The man’s ambitious action of breaking the egg while the girl was asleep displays the resurrection of mankind in a unique way. Oshii never reveals what was in the egg, which leaves the audience in a position to openly interpret what was in the egg, and what the man was searching for. In the case of the biblical story that this film evidently represents, the egg contains nothing. Instead, the act of breaking the egg is what is more significant. It is a trying symbol of breaking free of worldly desires and turning over your life and your vulnerability to God, which the man had been looking to do, but was looking in the wrong places. When he found the girl, though, he began to acknowledge his misconception of God’s grace. As the film concludes, the girl rises from the sea, similar to God’s return in the Bible, with an army of new creatures for mankind to live with and adapt to. The powerful conclusion ties a beautiful bow on this coup of symbolizing God’s grace, perfectly encapsulating how mankind gave their life to God in return for eternal life, as well as how people today can still do so when in pursuit of God’s love.
This intense allegory by Oshii, depicting the sacrifices of God and mankind following the elimination of mankind, is beyond ambitious, due to the common religions and beliefs in Japan, and how Oshii completely takes a left turn by depicting a significant story within Christian beliefs. Though this story goes against the grain of the religious beliefs within Japan, it still tells a completely valid story about vulnerability, faith, hope, and trust, which ultimately reveals an integral step in the significance of film in the world. Stories have the power to push typical boundaries within their place of origin, their beliefs, and societal norms. This story, in a style of film that originated in Japan, is brought to life through its allegorical nature that depicts religious stories from other nations and other areas of the world, yet still made a large impact within Japan, as well as the rest of the world.
The power of stories, of cinema, is evidently not restricted to one place, one belief, or one perspective, but rather serves as a gateway that can overcome cultural divergences between nations, religions, and ethnicities, which is exactly what makes movies so special and so powerful. Each storyteller, writer, director, and even moviegoer has the responsibility to learn more, understand, appreciate, and spread the message about not just their own beliefs, culture, and country, but about that of others all across the globe, making the world one enormous place bound together by the strength of cinema.
