When the Wind Blows (1988)

Yeah, it was really disturbing! And what made it so was how realistic it seemed. The elderly couple was so amazingly acted that it could have been any couple from the real world. Animated in a very unique way by adding cartoon-looking characters to photographs of their living room and kitchen (I think). By adding live-action passages of WWII and well-known personas from that time and having the couple always talking about their experiences from there just made the threat of the nuclear holocaust seem even more omnipresent and frightening. Especially after the half-hour mark the film gradually gets harder to sit through and I can't imagine how it was in the cinema back in 1986 during the Cold War tensions. It's not sad as films like "Grave of the Fireflies", but more disturbing and depressing. Yes, depressing is the right way to describe it, but disturbing is the way they cope with the situation. Watching two main characters slowly dying in the ruins of their home in a desolation after a nuclear bomb has struck is for a PG audience??? At the very least PG-13!!! You're in for a hell-ride of a depressive watch, but that's what "When the Wind Blow" was supposed to do with its unique visual style and the most disturbing and dragged out character death in cinematic history. Thoughtprovoking and realistic brilliance indeed!

Jim and Hilda are two English retirees, living in a cottage in the country. War with Russia seems imminent and Jim starts taking precautions against a nuclear attack. Remembering World War 2, Jim and Hilda staunchly believe that everything will be okay, even if nuclear weapons are involved. But will it?Powerful, poignant anti-war movie. Mixes nonchalance and English laugh-in-the-face of danger humour with some incredibly shocking reminders of the effects of nuclear war. Funny and terrifying, all at the same time.Quite emotional too. We see flashes of Jim and Hilda's history, the life they had, the simplicity and innocence of their existence and how this is shattered.

I remember seeing this movie on YouTube. I love the use of live action and 2D animation put together and the story was depressing to watch. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union were having a fight with the US and the whole of NATO and that includes England, the country that these two live in. When WWIII started, we see them dying from radiation sickness through the third act of the movie. What the movie was portraying this two couple saying that they'll survive a war if one is coming, as they did during the second world war, showing determination and confidence that they'll survive a nuclear war, which sadly they didn't in the end, it didn't show but you can tell that they were dead. The music sends a depressing chill down your spine and the story makes you feel sorry for the characters. However, despite it being animated, it is not suitable for young kids.

Life like the wind can be a very fleeting thing, we always think we have enough time in our lives and death is far behind, but the moment it comes is always the least we expect and we realize how little time we really had. There are few movies I cry to and this film is one of them.Based on a graphic novel by Ramond Biggs whom made the famous Christmas story "The Snowman". I love the combination of both 2D and 3D animation in places it really made the universe the character were in seem less cartoonish and feel uncompromisingly real, from the way the characters walk to certain locations of the house really feels like your there. The nuclear explosion scene how it was presented and executed I'll admit is one of the most disturbing, horrifying, and unnerving scenes I've ever seen, the only other time I seen this was in the anime film "Barefoot Gen". The music is great it really fits the film, I even like the theme song by one of my favorite singer's David Bowie.But what really makes this film is really the couple Jim and Hilda Bloggs the movie focuses on. These characters really feel like ordinary people it's easy to forget their animated characters. From some of the things they say to one another which feels like the usual things you'd talk about. There are times when you really cringe at their ignorance about the war but you also at time feel heavy pathos for them as both are just struggling to survive by what they have as well as the information from the government pamphlets which made it all the more sadder because you know the information is a lie.There is a lot that really tugs at our emotions, one scene where we see as the explosion is continuing the camera then focuses on a picture of the past and we see both Jim and Hilda past in a montage as they were young and when they grew old. It clinched at my heart because I knew that those times from their past are gone forever. Another scene that was disturbing was when both were outside and they think they smell roasted meat and when we see shots of a town in ruin we know exactly what that smell is, it really gave me a sick feeling inside.It even tugs from the little moments like when Jim wonders why the milkman hasn't arrived. It tugged me because all of the modern conveniences we would take for granted are gone forever, this made me appreciate all of those little things like going to the grocery store and having food and supplies always there for us to buy; or simply even the mall to get video games/movies. Down to the just seeing the physical toll the aftermath is taking on the couple which is gut wrenching because once Hilda's hair falls off their dying.But what really tugged at my emotions the most was just the sense of familiarity, the couple reminded me a little of my own grand parents whom have now passed away along with the house they live in which looks or at least almost looks similar to the house I use to visit my grand parents at. This all the more increased the emotional weight.The fate of the couple in the end broke my heart and I literally broke down and cried, it is something that will haunt you forever.This film really made me appreciated life, grateful that I can still play and buy video games, do martial arts, have a girlfriend and friends, and just simply do all the things I do best in life because none of use really have all the time in the world, like the wind life blows away.Rating: 4 stars