Today, when I finally started to write the aftermath of "Angel's Egg", it happened to be a violent storm in Shanghai. It started in the morning and hardly stopped, as if it was about to drown the world. Many of the ideas in the article are inspired by "Stry dog of anime" by Brain Ruh. If you want to know more about Mamoru Oshii and his works, it is recommended to read this book.
In 1985, "Angel's Egg" was born. This OVA marked Oshii's first work as an independent director after leaving the studio pierrot and the Lucky Stars crew. Because it can be completely free to play, this work has a strong personal imprint—his worldview, his art philosophy, etc. are very clearly poured into this film. Although in subsequent interviews, Mamoru Oshii once joked that because of the obscureness of this work, "no one would find him to make a movie for many years", but this undoubtedly established the consistent style of his subsequent works: extensive use of metaphors and symbols methods to explore the deep nature of human nature and the world. In addition, Yoshitaka Amano as the art director of the film, the combination of two swords greatly enhances the charm of the work, the complex and gorgeous Gothic architecture, the abandoned old town, the gloomy and heavy atmosphere, the characters in the style of exquisite pen strokes, the stillness The clear picture and silent blank space, the rhythm of the plot and the tension of the conflict have been perfectly grasped, which have made this OVA that can be called a work of art.
Cameron once commented on Mamoru Oshii: The creation of many Hollywood blockbusters is to determine several attractive characters first, and then consider the plot and worldview; however, Mamoru Oshii develops the entire story line based on the worldview. This way of creation undoubtedly endows his works with depth and breadth, full of exploration and philosophical thinking about the meaning of human beings, the meaning of life and the meaning of time. Mamoru Oshii has a deep understanding of religion, especially Christianity. The use of religious metaphors to express his worldview can be seen in his various works, "Angel's Egg" is based on Noah's Ark, "avalon" uses Hungarian religious legends, etc. However, he admits that he does not believe in a specific sect, and he only uses metaphors and symbols in religion to construct the worldview in his works. Therefore, based on this, my interpretation of the metaphors in "Angel's Egg" will not be limited to Christianity, but may also include metaphors in Eastern European legends and traditional Japanese culture. Oshii Mori himself has said that he himself cannot fully interpret the meaning of the entire work, and he believes that each audience has their own answers in their hearts. So here I will express my own views on the basis of trying not to deviate from the idea of the work.
"Angel's Egg" has a total of 71 minutes. In a deserted old European town with a sense of doomsday, a white-haired girl is running around to guard the eggs that hatch something, and a soldier has lost his memory and is aimlessly looking for answers to some things, without colors and expressions. The lead-grey fisherman relentlessly hunted the shadows of big fish that didn't exist. The warrior and the girl met and talked about the ancient past when God flooded the world and built Noah's Ark. The soldier asked: "The bird that was released to explore the land conditions has never returned. Does it exist?" The girl firmly believed that it existed, and was waiting to hatch in the egg she guarded. While she was sleeping, the soldier broke open the egg with his sword and found nothing. The girl woke up to find that the eggs were empty, and she was so grief-stricken that she fell into a deep pool, grew up, matured, and spit out countless eggs.
First of all, let me talk about my understanding of the worldview of the film. I find Angel's Egg to be strikingly similar to Neil Gaiman's American Gods: every ancient god, prospered when he had many followers, and died when he lost. The abandoned European town, the dead horizon, and the lifeless fisherman in "Angel's Egg" all symbolize a world where the gods are withered and beliefs are declining. In this world, young girls represent the few believers who are unshakable in their beliefs or people with divinity, and warriors represent wanderers who have lost their faith and self-identity and are confused and searching for the meaning of life.
Then, in this world view, let me talk about my understanding of the metaphors of the characters in this work:
1) Fish and Fisherman
There is no doubt that the large fish (shaped very much like the extinct spiny columbine) that swims on the walls of the ancient building in the film symbolizes God. In Christianity, fish are inextricably linked with God. The Greek word for fish is ichthus, and the corresponding Greek translation is, "Iesous Christos, Theou Uios, Soter". Meaning, "Christ Jesus, Son of God, Savior", the symbol "Christ Fish" (see image below), mainly used by Christians in the early church era (first and second century AD). The symbol was introduced by the Egyptians of Alexandria; at that time, Alexandria was a very famous port through which many goods from continental Europe had to pass. Because of this, the symbol was first used by the people of the coastal cities as a symbol of the well-known deity Jesus Christ.
In addition, more direct evidence is that the colored windows of the Gothic churches in the towns in the film are in the shape of fish (see ova screenshot). So the fish in the film symbolizes God Himself.
Fishermen who persistently track and hunt fish naturally represent believers who believe in God. In the Bible, many of Jesus' apostles were fishermen. For example, in the fourth chapter of Matthew, God called four fishermen to be his apostles. Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishermen's fishermen."
But it is worth noting that the fisherman in the film is shaped like a lead gray sculpture, not like a living person, but more like some kind of phantom. They are usually as motionless as sculptures, and only when the shadow of the big fish is dispatched do they try their best to catch fish. Whether it is seeing the little girl or the warrior, or even being submerged by the flood, he is indifferent. Oshii Mori's shaping of these believers is undoubtedly in a negative sense. The fisherman blindly and numbly followed the afterimage of God (faith), persistently waiting for God to come again, even at the risk of dying in the flood.
2) Warrior
The image of the warrior in the story has multiple metaphorical meanings. From the appearance, he is very similar to the incarnation of Christ: carrying a cross-shaped weapon, and his hands are wrapped in white bandages, which reminds me of the scene of Christ being crucified on the cross. And he was talking to the girl about God sending a flood to destroy the world and building Noah's Ark, talking about his and the girl's belonging, saying: "You and I are like those fish, only exist in the memory of those who have long passed away. ." Just like all ancient gods, more and more people are forgotten in the corner of memory. In this sense, his image coincides with that of Christ.
But there is no doubt that there is a metaphor to his identity. It is nihilism . There is not much dialogue in the whole film, but the only thing that keeps repeating is the phrase " dare, anada wa dare ?" (Who? Who are you?) This is not only the girl's question to him, but also his own question to himself. He didn't know his past, who he was, and where he was going. He lost his sense of his identity and wandered the world in search of the truth. But at the same time, he has the sober insight and thinking to analyze the truth of all things, and he takes a very realistic approach to what the egg gestates: break it and face it squarely. Completely different from the girl's wishful belief, he broke the girl's illusory belief. It's a sober look at yourself, and the world, totally anti-religion and anti-belief. Therefore, another layer of metaphor for warriors is the kind of people who have abandoned all beliefs and identities in the old world, have a calm look at this world, and constantly pursue the truth.
Human history, with the industrial revolution as a watershed, has undergone tremendous changes. Before the Industrial Revolution, due to the limited understanding of nature, people had a natural reverence for God and nature, and religious belief has always been the center of human culture. But since the Industrial Revolution, technology has been highly developed, religion has been scientifically proven false, and atheism has become mainstream. However, more and more people have lost their faith in this seemingly progressive society, and the world has begun to be filled with many confused souls. More and more people are struggling to find the meaning of life while enjoying the convenience of technology.
This warrior may be the epitome of modern man: he spent his whole life searching for the meaning of his life on the ark of the sea, but the answer he got was nothingness.
3) Girls
The symbolism of maiden and egg is undoubtedly the center of the whole work. And it also has multiple metaphors. First of all, judging from the appearance of the character design, the girl is very likely to symbolize the Virgin Mary , pure, chaste, unmarried but guarding the eggs that hatch and breed something. In addition, at the end of the ova, the sculpture of the girl appeared on the spaceship, which almost coincided with the image of the Virgin Mary in Western religious paintings. From this perspective, the egg may symbolize the Son of God, sent by God to save the world, sleeping in the egg, waiting to hatch. The girl guards the eggs with utmost devotion, believing that the eggs will hatch into birds and fly into the sky.
The second metaphor, in the world view of this work, the girl also symbolizes a type of person who has firm belief but blindly follows belief. The egg symbolizes her faith. But she didn't understand her beliefs, and she didn't know whether this belief was nothing or would really bring her hope of redemption. She never looked at and analyzed what she had always believed in head-on. She lives in an ancient castle that houses ancient fossils, accompanied by bottles collected around. The castle that holds the fossils symbolizes her stronghold of the ancient beliefs, and the ampoule containing the water may represent the expectation of the unknown. Lommis said that people have a natural curiosity about glass, and the joy and excitement of seeing the world through it is far stronger than diamonds. The girl undoubtedly has a preference for water and bottles, and the world on the other side of the glass bottle is so mysterious.
The attitude of the girl and the warrior towards faith is in stark contrast. Both of them yearn for the hope of redemption, but when the warrior sees her, he says, "Only by breaking the egg can we know what's inside." As the girl fell asleep, The egg is broken by the warrior, this action has a double meaning: on the one hand, the broken egg symbolizes the brokenness of the girl's pure faith ; on the other hand, I personally think that the cross-shaped weapon that breaks the egg symbolizes the genitals, and the broken egg symbolizes the broken The end of teenage chastity . The girl found that the belief that she had carefully guarded for so long was empty, she let out a mournful cry, and fell into the water stream. Water has reproductive significance in Japanese traditional culture. She is no longer a girl in the water, but becomes a young woman and spit out more eggs. The more eggs spit out by the girl after she lost herself and fell into the water represent her sacrifice to her faith with her life. This sacrifice echoes the stories of martyrs in many religious legends, who sacrificed their lives to protect religious beliefs. At the end of the film, the white feathers fluttering on the wild land are fascinating. Did the birds hatch from the eggs? If they hatch, where do they fly?
4) Eggs
So what does the egg represent , the crucial metaphor that runs through the book ? I think the egg metaphor is also multiple. On the one hand, the girl is convinced that this is the egg that breeds the bird. In the Bible, the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, especially used to symbolize God's baptism and Pentecost. It also signifies the liberation of the soul after death. It is used by people to summon the hare, a harbinger of hope. In the legend of Noah's Ark, when the flood was receding, Noah sent doves to inquire about the conditions of the land. So in the eyes of the girl, the egg represents the hope of redemption .
On the other hand, eggs have rich meanings in different cultural backgrounds. In Latvian lore, the egg represents the initial state of the world where angels and demons are bred. In Nihonki, the egg represents the chaos at the beginning of Genesis, from which the world was born. The egg represents the transition period between the old state and the new state, the egg itself is not important, what the egg becomes is what matters. This is also why warriors thirsting for truth and meaning are eager to break the egg.
At the end of the film, the circular spaceship carrying a number of ancient Roman and Greek gods slowly ascends to the sky, echoing its landing at the beginning of the film. Among the statues of gods, the girl holding the egg also became one of them, symbolizing the demise of another god in the world and the demise of another faith. I think this spaceship symbolizes ancient gods or many religions. Whenever the world loses a god who is no longer believed by people, this god is turned into a sculpture and is slowly taken away from this world by the spaceship.
As the camera continues to rise, let us see clearly that the warriors are actually on top of a huge Noah's Ark. And this ark floats alone on a vast ocean.
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