When the Wind Blows is a 1986 British adult animated disaster film directed by Jimmy Murakami based on Raymond Briggs graphic novel of the same name staring John Mills and Peggy Ashcoft. The film tells the story of a rural couple in England as they attempt to survive a nearby nucellar attack and nation a sense of normality in the subsequent fallout and nucellar winter. When The Wind Blows is a film showcasing the horrific effect of nuclear war as shown though the lens of two ordinary people.
The film starts with live action footage showing the military vehicles and reenforced police as the music is interrupted by an ominous wind showcasing the highted paranoia that the country is on the brink of nuclear war and soon there will be nothing left. The Protagonists of the film Jim and Hilda are presented as a middle-aged couple as Jim is presented about worrying about the war, but his wife Hilda is not interested and doesn’t care, he tries to engage with the politics of the situation but doesn’t really understand it. Being an older couple, they see this upcoming war vin a shadow of WW2 and although Jim is taking it seriously Hilda doesn’t. Jim in his innocence believe that the leaflets will help them and constructs a fallout shelter in line with county council guidelines. The film constantly shows that they are don’t really understand what’s going on as Hilda is worried about mealiness things like the paint on the doors as Jim makes a makeshift fallout shelter. The film contains a beautiful sequence where a dandy lion becomes a butterfly until realty comes crashing down with Jim taking the doors off.
Jim tries to prepare but doesn’t know what’s going on he rings his son which leads to a disagreement about caring out the government’s intrusion. This again shows that people are unprepared for not interested in the events of the world and by avoiding the problem they have sealed their fate. This leads to a nice little craterisation of these people as Jim and Hilda as they talk about him not taking things seriously and its because of this beat neck college as a shot of a missile shows that war is ever present. They discuss the main players of ww2 but don’t know the people in charge to saying it’s all run by committees showing show out of touch they are making the v events of the film even more tragic, as they talk about Anderson shelters a reminisce about the war showing real WW2 footage. There is an ominous tone throughout the film with normal scenes of them getting food as they paint the doors with radiation as they worry about the doors marking the wallpaper. Throughout the film Jim constantly follows the guidelines and Hilda pokes holes in it as the film criticises the guidelines. They again blindly follow the government materials as the governmental manuals say to take the materials of the windows and hang white sheets as they are worried about not having peanut butter. There is an idea throughout the film saying only the fittest survive as the question who will win the war looms the film as the Americans have better nukes, but the Russians could attack earlier. The film demonstrates another dream sequence being an attack as Jim describes it. It shows the generals rounding everything up as the generals will take charge and the democracy will be resorted.
Jim talks about Monty in WW2 but doesn’t know who’s in charge again showing how they don’t understand what’s going on. There is still the idea of incoming doom with the nuclear submarine as they don’t know who’s in charge of the Russians. They talk about the Russians and the KGB as Hilda wants to write the Russians a letter again showing there disconnect. When the enemy missiles are being launched Jim yells at Hilda “come beck you stupid bitch and get in the shelter” as they run in with sirens being sounded as in wartime everything becomes a crazed panic. When the bomb goes off the animation becomes brown and drawn in a rough style. With the audio of Hilda yelling about the cake being burnt. The wind seemly destroys everything in its path with a POV shot of a live action explosion of the house as it goes back to animation showing with the wedding picture being shattered what their lives were and now its destroyed. Hilda and Jim come to in a state of shock not understanding what’s going on commenting on the light and heat. The film then shows a lives action house been destroyed as Jim says it could be worse and Hilda worries about the curtains and cushions as the house in destroyed. They talk about washing plates in the destruction of the house as Hilda wants to go out but Jim tells her to stick to the guidelines. It turns out that Jim and Hilda don’t have anything to talk about but not in a bad way more in a way where it seems that. They truly love each other. Jim spurts out his blind trust of the government being his downfall making empty statements about the attack and talks about ballistic missile early warning systems.
They talk about perimeter acquisition radar attack characterisation systems the footage becomes more rapid and unclear as his voice becomes distant. They don’t understand any of it because its all nonsense and it doesn’t matter as the sequence is stopped by footage of a nuclear bomb going off, with this irony that despite all the government institutions the bomb still went off. Jim and Hilda start of have early signs of radiation sickness but don’t realise it. They believe that they can carry on as usual as Jim tries to make a cup of tea believing that the fact that there’s no water or electricity is due to governmental precautions. They don’t understand why the radio and TV doesn’t work as they talk about price of batteries and the phones cut off as they become worried about their son Ron. They wonder if the war is still ongoing or just ended as Jim talks about Churchill as Hilda reminds him that Churchill is not the prime minister anymore and they don’t even know who’s in charge. Jim checks the book as Hilda says its pointless to have something like a gong stating if the Russians heard it, they would shoot you. The film reuses the flower imagery only this time it’s over a graveyard showing old people flying off to heaven, as the film crashes back to reality of these people lives after the bomb. They have headaches, dizziness, temperature, and radiation sickness. The film shows they don’t understand what’s going on with Hilda worried about cleaning up for visitors and Jim saying the emergency services will arrive soon. This is renounced will them saying the government will spring into action as they forget to stay in the shelter. Hilda then gets worse due to radiation sickness as the garden becomes destroyed with no life. The film shows that normal people don’t know what fallout is and that everything is irradiated or dead, as everything has an eerie silence of it as everything smells like human flesh.
They don’t realise that everything has already ended as a dark ominous cloud forms as acid rain comes down and they collect into releasing its radioactive. They believe the rains ok as Jim believes that he will be called up like air warden or a stretcher bearer or an ambience driver or firefighter as they are trapped in this WW2 vison of viewing war, in a dream sequence were big Russian monsters break down the door, as Hilda says she would offer them a cup of tea and says that during the war some of the Russians were nice. They then go on to talk about more technical aspects of war such as an American missile potently landing on them and that a Megadeath is the number of people dead by a bomb in war. Hilda ends up going off on food as Jim continues to run off war facts worried about the economic climate as Hilda finally has a breakdown about the dirty crockery. They have no food casing Jim to have a breakdown as they ration one sweet between them. This emotional breakdown continues as a rat is found in the toilet and Hilda cries as there no water and they become even more ill with Hilda lips going red. They find out they have blood in their urine and excrement as they both don’t understand what’s going on. In this final part of the film, they both have a. breakdown and cry and comfort each other, as they both become even more sick saying thing should get better and don’t realise that all hope is lost. Again, they have no grounding of what’s going on as they still think Ron will be alright thinking its WW2. Things go from bad to worse as find red spots caused by radiation and put some skin lotion on it commenting on their sickness being unusual. At the ned of the film, it truly shows that all is lost as Hilda’s hair comes out due to radiation sickness and doesn’t realise what’s going on. The death parrels become obvious as the get into begs talking about being buried in the ground saying that if the worst happens, they will wait for the emergency services and crawl into the shelter. They decide to pray realising there going to die as get confused as the wooded boards in the house become a storm Jim’s last word “into the valley of the shadow of death” is cut off when Hilda says “oh no more love” as they know they are going to die.
When the Winds Blows is a film showcasing the harrowing effects of nuclear war. It shows how most people don’t realise the real effects of nuclear war on the world and how the normal people with no knowledge or power will ultimately pay the price.
