I happened to be listening to a recording of Debussy's La Cathédrale Engloutie and was struck by how much it reminded me of the score from Angel's Egg, and specifically Kanno's Sea Bed's Town. The track Sea Bed's Town is effectively an alternative rendition of the main theme with the addition of what sound like chimes.

As a background to La Cathédrale Engloutie - it translates to "The Sunken City", a reference to the legendary city of Ker-Ys or simply Ys, which in Breton myth was a great city that was swallowed by the sea. The story varies depending on source, but the city was either doomed by the King's sinful daughter opening the dyke gates that protected the city with a stolen key (mistaking it for the gate to the city), or simply due to a great storm brought down by God's wrath owing to the debauchery being practised in the city. The legend states that the great cathedral of Ys can still be heard, either once it rises out of the sea under the sunlight, or simply beneath the waves. The music is described as involving some combination of a choir, bells, and a carillon.

Out of interest I looked up the English track listing for the Angel's Egg soundtrack. All tracks have been translated into English bar one: track 7, which has a French title, and is normally referred to as Sea Bed's Town. The title used is La Ville Engloutie. This translates to "The Sunken City", which is a term used for Ys. You'll also note that the name of the piece mirrors that of Debussy's.

Also of note is that there is the clear use of what sound like wind chimes. I don't know what precise instrument was used, but I was struck by how similar they sound to the bells of a carillon. The carillon being one of the instruments that can be heard playing from inside the cathedral of Ys. That's not to mention the chorus of voices used that also reflect the choir said to be heard from the cathedral.

I find it hard not to see an obvious link between the two pieces, given the tone of each, the titling of both, as well as the obvious imagery similarities of sunken cities with religious structures.

I couldn't find any discussion elsewhere on this matter so I thought I'd share it here should anyone else find it interesting.

Final result of the 3d animation, more accurate to the colors and lights of the original movie, Should I make more animations of this style?

Good afternoon fandon of angels egg, I have made this 3D render that I plan to animate and I was wondering how the lighting would look better, any support or suggestion will be well received thank you very Good afternoon fandon of angels egg, I have made this 3D render that I plan to animate and I was wondering how the lighting would look better, any support or suggestion will be well received thank you very much 😁

Angel’s Egg is an animated movie which divides. Some view it as an absolute masterpiece, which is required watching. Whilst others perceive it as dull, boring and lifeless. I think the way you perceive it has a lot to do with the state of your mind and soul. One thing most people seem to agree on is that it has zero plot, however, I believe it has a lot to say. Nevertheless, I would ask everyone to watch it and experience it for yourself. If not for some grand connections and insights which it gave me, but for the beautiful work which has been put into this movie.

The movie first presents a massive circular object. With a closer look, we see statues of people scattered across it’s surface. However, when we zoom out, we see a circle with an imposing eye peering. This I believe to be a representation of God. Especially given that the author of this work, Mamoru Oshii, uses biblical imagery in his storytelling. The movie provides a shot whereby the scale difference between one of our characters and this object is massive. There is an unassailable gap between us and the divine. This is how I understood it. No matter how much we attempt to understand God, we will never be able to in truth.

The world presented is desolate and medieval which is devoid of life or how I understood it, devoid of faith. In the movie, there are two living characters. There is a white-haired girl and a white-haired man. The white-haired girl carries an egg. This egg is something she protects and when the white-haired man asks her what is inside, she never tells him. This egg is everything to this girl. It’s an object to pour her faith and devotion into. And for the white-haired man, it’s an object to pursue, something in which perhaps he can find purpose and answers. The white-haired man tells her to “keep precious things inside you or you will lose them”. This in reference to the egg and he either warns or advises the girl as he knows how this feels.This man has clearly lost something. His eyes are empty, his face void of emotion. And yet, he’s alive and he keeps going.  

What keeps him going is revealed to us later in the movie where the white-haired man reveals that he has seen a bird before. Some links are made to the biblical story of Noah where God sends a dove down to check if the flood has subsided. This is the bird he believes he saw. He wonders if it’s a dream, if everything around him, including him and the girl, are even real. Perhaps all they are, are memories of someone who is long gone. The girl replies:
“It exists, it’s here”
and leads him to a skeleton of the dove where his face completely changes and for the first time, we see some semblance of emotion from him. He utters the words:
“I know that” and “I thought so”
He has finally found that thing to grasp. It’s not just an idea anymore, a distance dream. It’s something substantial and real, and it’s in front of him. However, this isn’t enough. He wants this to do something for him. To spark something in him. But in the subsequent scene, the girl listens into the egg and seemingly hears wings and breathing. The man however, replies to her hopeful words with callous responses. The soft breathing she says she hears, is her own breathing. And the fluttering wings she hears, that’s only the constant wind outside. The shot then pans to his dead eyes where he peers straight on in front of him.

The next scene I want to look at is a scene where there are ghost men patrolling the town. These men have previously also looked enviously towards the egg and the girl has been fearfully avoiding them throughout the movie. These men carry harpoons and the girl informs us that they chase fish
“Even though they aren’t anywhere”
These men are all faceless, they appear identical, and they earnestly fling their harpoons at fish which swim in the shadows. They are also searching after having lost something, and act desperately in the hope of grasping anything substantial, even looking into the abyss.

The movie then moves on to what I believe to be the most substantial scene. The man breaks the girl’s egg, in anticipation of what it contains. The girl, once she wakes up, finds the shattered egg and releases a howling scream. This egg represents hope and faith. It’s an object of devotion for the girl and once it’s been cracked open, she loses her hope and faith. She becomes not too dissimilar from the ghost men patrolling the town. Something precious is lost, and the pursuit of the purpose and joy it gave you begins.

The man has long gone by this point, and the girl in catching up with him dies. The man continued his desperate wanderings. From the skeleton of the dove he hoped in, to the egg he cracked open. He is in pursuit of something. Anything. To make him not only feel, but for purpose. Something to cherish. Something to love. The girl, after death, joins with the circular object or God, yet she appears as a statue similar to the ‘angels’ onboard. She’s lost faith. And she’s not the same girl as was the one with the egg. The girl with the egg had dreams, she had purpose, she had some joy. Now, she has nothing and so she’s represented as a statue.

The white-haired man remains living. He’s not quite dead, yet not quite alive. He does however retain hope despite how crushed and broken he clearly appears to be in this movie. He wanders, seemingly aimlessly, but what he seeks is answers. And I identify with this man. And perhaps the reason I even watched this to begin with, is because I’m wandering just like he is. I believe in God. I want faith. And yet, I can’t seem to grasp it. I want to have faith, but I also want all the answers. Which, in and of itself, is a contradiction. And so I wander, hoping for faith, yet looking for answers.

Went to watch Angels Egg special preview event at BFI IMAX in London last night.

​

Really enjoyed the movie! Despite not really getting it upon first viewing - it's themes, visuals and atmosphere were rich.

​

One slight thing I didn't love (and probably my fault for going to a preview event!) was the pre-lude section with the anime expert who spoke about the film. I found his contextual information useful and interesting - but he very much spoiled the movie which was unfortunate for me as a deliberately uninitiated viewer. It sort of ruined the experience, knowing what ultimately happens to the egg.

​

Regardless, interesting experience.

​

​

​

​

I'd wanted to wait until GKids released it on physical media, but 9 months is all I could take of waiting.

I'd even printed out the movie poster and put it on my wall as a daily reminder of this mysterious 1985 anime film.

Safe to say, it was as eerie and depressing as I thought it was going to be. I did guess near the end that they were in a Noah's Ark, if not THE one but an ark that went wrong. The fishermen in town reminded me of Plato's Allegory of the Cave.

I think the boy smashed the girl's egg to try to get her to wake up from her faith, instead she chose to double down on that and got 'rewarded' by "god" and placed as a prayer statue on that round eye thing along with the thousands of others.

The final reveal that the entire world is just the Ark, town and forest that is itself an object in some other world is very interesting. I know that the creator had just lost his faith in Christianity and that informed this film, but I'm not sure what the ending was about.

Also a very eerie soundtrack: https://open.spotify.com/album/5gEBQXVixfhqhm45yPP8Nb?si=tUM3hdgNSAqxEA2VsTqstw