robinsonaustin-07490 When the Wind Blows is a 1986 animated disaster film based on a graphic novel by Raymond Briggs, who was also known for the Snowman. The movie's about an elderly British couple - James and Hilda Bloggs respectively - who live out in Sussex, England, on the countryside. Meanwhile, a war is raging between the United States and the Soviet Union. When it was announced that war could be expected within three days, Jim builds a fall out shelter from his door, and buys several pamphlets that the government had distributed concerning the upcoming attack. The couple had been through the likes of WWII, so they are fully convinced that after the war is over, everything will go back to normal. Unfortunately, they don't really have much knowledge on the prospect of nuclear missiles and the impending fallout. The missile drops in the middle of the film, obliterating everything in its path. The Bloggs survive seemingly unscathed, but for how long? The book was written during a time where the threat of nuclear war was much too real. It tried to convey that in the event of a nuclear holocaust, you'd rather it that you get killed immediately by the heat of the blasts. If you were to win the worst lottery ever and end up surviving, your expectancy is limited as your food supply dwindles, and the water is most likely saturated in radiation. Worse yet, you could begin to feel the symptoms of radiation sickness making your death slow and painful. The Bloggs are a likable couple; they're funny, they genuinely love each other regardless of not seeing eye to eye much on some opinions, and they are funny; really, it's their light-hearted naivety that makes the overall tragedy of the film more pronounced. When the radiation sickness begins to set in, the last few hours of the film are of you watching this couple that you had come to love slowly die from radiation sickness, and there isn't anything you can do about it. These characters wouldn't as much as hurt a fly, and yet, they will still die anyway, because it is next to impossible to maintain the extremity of a nuclear holocaust. For whatever reason - most likely a feeble attempt to maintain face from the reality of their situation - the couple attributes each symptom of the illness to old age. The film ultimately ends with them returning to their shelter and praying whilst death comes to collect them.The movie is done in traditional hand-drawn animation as well as claymation to give the film its surreal atmosphere. As the Bloggs are hand-drawn, anything that they grab onto immediately changes into a traditional style to match the character design. The animation is eerily similar to the Snowman which can be bad as it would lead to the assumption that the film is targeted towards a young audience when its subject matter is too mature for them to comprehend fully. However, you could say that the reason for the animation style is to show how life can change with just the push of a button; whatever was beautiful and well-furnished would immediately blacken and go up in flames, heavily resembling many's interpretation of the apocalypse. The actors who played the protagonists also do a good job with making their characters seem realistic. At some points, they could even pass themselves off as if they had been married for years. Lastly, the music is great. Besides the opening title that was sung by the late David Bowie, there are also musical scores that fit the scenes swimmingly. When the bomb goes off, the music becomes louder and sinister to emphasize the fact that the world as we know it is coming to an end. The music that begins to play the moment that the elderly couple realize they're dying is also haunting and depressing. While the film is dark and depressing, it served its purpose. The film is a warning about the likelihood of a nuclear war happening. If a nuclear war were to happen, the government is powerless to sustain the extremities of the blasts, and those that are morally upright and wouldn't hurt a fly will nevertheless still die. In the event of a nuclear war, there is little to no hope of recovery. I recommend this film to anyone who watches apocalyptic films or anti-war films. For films that are similar to When the Wind Blows, I would suggest checking out Barefoot Gen and Studio Ghibli's Grave of the Fireflies. The latter is bound to make you feel miserable. However, if you are in a happy mood, by all means, do NOT watch When the Wind Blows. It is a truly haunting film, but one that will leave a huge impression on you.

the_wolf_imdb There is a ton of movies about nuclear war that are actually haunting. Barefoot Gen, for example. Some of these war movies are actually really frightening and I had nightmares from them. When it comes to British production, Threads comes to mind.This movie is very different and not in a good way. The elderly couple talks and talks and talks and the only horror I have experienced is the fright that they just won't ever stop. Really. Seriously. After one hour of uninterrupted chatter I just wished the movie would end already.The movie plays strongly at the 'good ol' England" instrument but it is downright silly. The nice elderly gentleman tries to comply with information from the government leaflets even though they are obviously stupid. The elderly woman just behaves as a housewife and cares not a bit about the world or about anyone else. Both of them pretend nothing serious at all is actually happening.First and foremost: As a generation that has experienced 1945 and bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki they should know better. There was never ending flow of civil defense trainings and information at that era. Everyone was informed way way better about what to do in the case of nuclear attack. The approach of the old folks to the situation is not just silly, it is simply retarded. Both of them should have been in the nursing home already.Second: There is not a sign of any emotional reaction from these silly folks. It might be because of some British sort of parody, but really: Everyone in such situation experiences horrible stress. Take a look at the "The Day After" - everyone is shaken into the core and on the brink of nervous breakup. For these retarded folks it is just some form of inconvenience. They are cleaning the house as if they just had experienced some sort of wild house party. Do they care about their folks in London? Do they care at all about their neighbors, about their friends? No, let's have a cup of tea, dear! Do you want some ketchup with your sausage, dear? They are not humans. They are some sort of constantly mumbling self centered and almost completely ignorant aliens. This movie should NOT be shown to the children as a warning from the horrors of the nuclear war. They would be bored into the death as after visit of a nursing home. Grandpa Simpson had a couple of both more thrilling and more horrible stories about the war! Watch the Barefoot Gen, watch the Threads, watch The Day After and then compare it with this movie. You may discover the high average evaluation of this movie is just as silly as the elderly couple.

Thomas Stansfield 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.

garden-17 Plot: An elderly couple, living in rural England, survive the detonation of a nuclear weapon by stubbornly, loyally, and naively following government-issued pamphlets and publications. While they survive the initial blast, it takes its toll on the lovely married couple, with devastating results.Acting: The acting is phenomenal! It's no wonder that the two lead voice-over actors are so well known and renowned in the U.K.! Their performances grant the appearance of being anyone's grandparents, which leads directly to the sadness of the film.Special Effects/Animation: The mix of stop-motion animation, live-action stock-footage, and standard animation, lend a sort of "childish" cinematography to the proceedings; not that I wish to imply that the quality of the cinematography is poor. Rather, it appears to be just like any other Saturday-morning cartoon from the 1980s. This further adds to the despair and hopelessness of the characters, as radiation-poisoning takes its inevitable toll.Overall: This film is, by and large, one of the most haunting, depressing--yet undeniably effective--"post-nuclear" fiction movies ever made. It is my belief that this film should be shown at every middle school, high school, and college on the face of this Earth, if only at least for the phenomenal animation that it contains. The sadness caused by the film (and by the knowledge that the elderly couple really never had a chance) has truly made quite an impression on me! Certainly, this "Wind" does not blow (if you get my drift): I give it a 10 out of 10!