REVIEW: ‘In the Aftermath’ on Blu-ray from Arrow Video
Image: Courtesy of Arrow Video / Provided by press site with permission.
In the Aftermath, an odd little cinematic treat that has been released on Blu-ray thanks to Arrow Video, has no comparison when thinking about anime or post-apocalyptic dramas. That uniqueness makes it an interesting, albeit frustrating experience.
The film, directed by Carl Colpaert, takes scenes from Mamoru Oshii’s Angel’s Egg anime movie from 1985 and pairs them with live-action sequences depicting a post-apocalyptic future. The resulting film is a tad uneven, but never boring.
The movie follows Frank and Goose, two soldiers trying to survive the elements in a dusty, barren landscape. Things start getting weird when Frank has images of an animated girl holding an egg (she’s the main character in Oshii’s film), and the two storylines become increasingly intertwined.
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Oshii’s scenes are the most powerful. His anime skills, later used for the revelatory Ghost in the Shell, are the stuff of anime legend. He has a way of combining artistic stylization with gripping narrative like no other director in the business. Throw in a tad of mystery (in this case, an egg held by the young girl), and audiences have a lot to latch on to and follow.
The live-action sequences with Frank and Goose are less effective. There’s not much dialogue, which is unlike the voiceover in Angel’s Egg, and the characters never attract the audience’s attention, not enough for one to care too much about their fate in these shadowlands.
As an experiment, In the Aftermath goes down as a good-old-college-try. As a piece of enduring cinema, there are some holes — mostly when the animation is off the screen.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
In the Aftermath (1988). Directed by Carl Colpaert. Written by Carl Colpaert and Mamoru Oshii. Starring Tony Markes, Rainbow Dolan and Kenneth McCabe. Running time: 72 minutes. On Blu-ray from Arrow Video. Special features: brand-new 2K restoration from original film elements, new interview with producer Tom Dugan, new interview with Markes, new appreciation of Oshii’s Angel’s Egg, still and poster gallery. Rating: 
