In the Aftermath

'In the Aftermath' (New World Video, 1987, colour, 70min approx, PAL uk release, "Directed" by Carl Colpaert) is a very strange affair. It's well worth the couple of quid you will pay at any bad secondhand video shop, for the Angel's Egg footage alone.

The basic plot is a handfull of radiation-suited people wondering round a post-apocalyptic landscape, occasionally being haunted by footage from Angel's Egg. The little girl from the anime (who is uncannily similar to Alice...) appears vaguely approximated in the live action bits, complete with polystyrene egg. At the end, the egg is broken, and the two survivors watch in awe as the world is saved by cheesy 80's video effects.
The most bizzare bit of messing about with Oshii's film that has been perpetrated here is the fact that the clips used have been dubbed over with quite a lot of dialogue, despite the fact that apart from a fairly long monologue/bible quotation thing, most of Egg's dialogue consists of the phrase 'Who are you?'. The anime sequences are integrated into the live action by means of the afforementioned child actor, various fadeing and cheap superimposing of the anime girl, and silliest of all fading between the anime and what looks like a bad bit of fan art the main character does!

In all, it's a shame 'Angel's Egg' wasn't given a proper western release. It would blatently have done as well if not better than the cheap naffness of 'In the Aftermath', and it's a shame that such a fine anime was so brutally hacked up and passed off as someone else's work. Oh well, at least it enabled me to make the some screengrabs for your edification! And I'm generally in favour of cut + paste creativity, so fair enough, I suppose.... Maybe Mr Colpart deserves a little credit for bringing at least a bit of this anime wonder to the west.

see In the Aftermath images

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