[Hang in there past the live footage / crappy David Bowie song intro which lasts 3'30", skip it or turn off the sound; you'll be rewarded.] A 1986 film based on the Raymond Briggs graphic novel of the same name. "When The Wind Blows" follows Jim and Hilda, a sweet elderly couple, as they try to prepare their home in the countryside for a coming nuclear war that they can only dimly comprehend. They reminisce nostalgically about the excitement and romance of the last war and urge their son in downtown London to build himself a fallout shelter. Eventually England is hit and the couple are initially okay but fail to understand the dangers of radiation poisoning and do not realize that help is unlikely to appear from the blackened landscape. Very sad but leavened with doses of sweetness and even humor; a profoundly moving film.
25 Comments
cryptographrixsays...most...depressing...cartoon...ever.(and I have some depressing cartoons)
calvadosAgreed.
calvadosHey, an upvote from ant! I didn't know that was even possible
moodoniaChannel 4 in the UK showed this in the 80's, just about the time kids were arriving home from school. It traumatised a generation. Profoundly depressing.
WolandAye, I was depressed for weeks after watching this. Near the end, when the husband is doting over his wife: "No, you can't be sick!"
At least it has a good soundtrack....
calvados@Woland: then you must not watch Requiem For A Dream, it will slit your wrists. At a minimum not by yourself!
arvana*promote
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rottenseedi was just thinking about this movie the other day
mysdrialThis film is excellent if horribly depressing. It's especially creepy for me because the two main character remind me so much of my grandparents. I remember starting to watch this when I was 12 or so, not knowing what kind of film it was...boy, was I bummed out at the end.
Doc_MThis reminds me of Grave of Fireflies in its tragedy. But honestly the sorta psychedelicness of a lot of it just ruins it.
calvados*findthumb
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calvados@Doc: true, there are a few "why is this here?" moments (edit: such as Hilda's daydream with the fairies). Overall the merits far outweigh them though.
10654depressing but great cartoon.
R
calvados*findthumb
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Zifnab*promote
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calvadosTa Zif!
Memorareif you're not thoroughly depressed after watching this you can finish the job by watching "Threads", a 1984 BBC television play which, in documentary style, dramatizes life minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades and generations after a global exchange. Profoundly depressing.
The lucky ones will be those who are snuffed in the first few seconds.
PaybackAnother depressing show is "The Miracle Mile".
calvados^Memorare: and we have the movie Threads here on VS as well --
http://www.videosift.com/video/Threads-Nuclear-War-1984
jonny*dead
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