Angel's Egg (1985)

"Angel's Egg" is a haunting Japanese animated art film directed by Mamoru Oshii, released in 1985. Co-created with artist Yoshitaka Amano and produced by Studio DEEN, this enigmatic masterpiece unfolds like a dream, steeped in surreal imagery and existential mystery, defying conventional storytelling. Set in a bleak, shadowy world where the sky hums with moving clouds and skeletal cities crumble, the story follows a fragile, unnamed girl (voiced by Mako Hyōdō) who roams with a singular purpose: safeguarding a large, ornate egg she cradles and gathering water in glass jars. Her solitary existence shifts when a somber man (Jinichi Nezu), bearing a cross-like weapon, crosses her path. Together, they wander the desolate landscape—past petrified Noah’s Ark-like ships and ghostly fish shadows—trading cryptic musings about life, memory, and the egg’s unknowable significance. Renowned for its breathtaking hand-drawn visuals, Amano’s gothic designs, and a sparse, ethereal score by Yoshihiro Kanno, "Angel's Egg" is a meditative enigma. Its minimal dialogue and layered symbolism—echoing Christian motifs and Oshii’s philosophical leanings—invite endless interpretation, though its opacity baffled some viewers. Released in 1985 as a direct-to-video project, "Angel's Egg" found a cult following among anime aficionados, lauded for its poetic beauty and haunting stillness. A precursor to Oshii’s later works like "Ghost in the Shell," it’s a mesmerizing riddle of a film, fragile as the egg it cradles.