When the wind blows
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | When the wind blows |
| Original title | When the Wind Blows |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1986 |
| length | 81 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Jimmy T. Murakami |
| script | Raymond Briggs |
| production | John Coates |
| music | Roger Waters |
| occupation | |
|
Speakers English / German
| |
When the Wind blows is an English cartoon from 1986 based on the comic book Radiant Times by Raymond Briggs and thematizes the consequences of an atomic bomb explosion on the population. It makes direct reference to the British civil defense program " Protect and Survive ".
action
The story takes place during an undisclosed period - but probably in the 1980s ("The war was 40 years ago!") - during the Cold War in England. The retired couple Hilda and Jim lead a quiet and happy life on the outskirts of a village near London . Her children are long out of the house and both are busy with themselves and their quirks. Jim likes to read the newspaper and find out about international developments, Hilda takes care of their little house and is not disturbed by her husband's communicative nature.
So it leaves you cold at first that the world is moving towards a nuclear war, while Jim strictly follows the recommendations of a “ Protect and Survive ” brochure. Jim follows the instructions in the booklet, which explains what to do in the event of a nuclear strike and what to do after the bomb is dropped. B. also how to protect yourself against radioactive fallout . While Hilda indulges in romantic memories of the last war, Jim builds a "shelter" out of the doors of the house and believes that by carefully following all advice he has done everything necessary for her to survive. Both deal with each other very carefree and also face the war and its consequences calmly, especially because both are sure, based on their experience with the last war, that they will survive the next one.
Jim and Hilda obviously have no real idea of the consequences of a nuclear explosion, the advice of the government brochure and the experiences of the Second World War have established a strangely shifted picture in their heads. When Jim learns in a telephone conversation with her son that he is not building a shelter because everything would be lost in a nuclear attack anyway, he is very upset and accuses his son of not paying enough attention to the protection of his family. Hilda, on the other hand, is mainly concerned about her household, constantly admonishing Jim not to damage the wallpaper and doors when building his self-protection room. Nevertheless, she lets her husband have their way, because he has experience in such things and she doesn't know politics as well as he does.
When the atomic strike occurs, the two hide in Jim's shelter and spend the night there. The next day they are still well and look around the badly damaged house. While Hilda is thinking about tidying up, Jim wants to wait for the rescue workers who will inevitably soon arrive and help himself. With an unbelievable naivety they tell themselves that things will soon return to normal and don't even realize that they are the only survivors in the area. It remains to be seen, however, whether they might also suppress this, since the two speak of their neighbors several times, but make no attempt to look after them.
A few days go by during which they try to clean the house, tour their devastated and burned garden, and run out of food supplies. After all, the couple has no chance of avoiding the consequences of the atomic bomb explosion. Although they survived the explosion, clear signs of radiation sickness from the radiation and fallout quickly emerge . Close to death, the two crawl back into the shelter, still hoping to be saved, and pray.
Remarks
The advice given in government brochures appears strange to useless, even grotesque, and sometimes contradicting each other, but for the most part it corresponds to the instructions in the brochures actually published by the British Protect and Survive program.
Film music
The music from the film comes from Roger Waters . The title track When the Wind Blows is sung by David Bowie . Roger Waters has woven excerpts from Psalm 23 into the soundtrack . The soundtrack album for the film also includes the songs Facts And Figures by Hugh Cornwell , The Brazilian by Genesis , What Have They Done by Squeeze and The Shuffle by Paul Hardcastle, which are not included in the film.
effect
The British heavy metal band Iron Maiden treated the film or the novel lyrically with the eleven-minute song When the Wild Wind Blows on their 2010 album The Final Frontier .
literature
- Raymond Briggs : When the wind blows. ["Radiant Times"]. (Original title: When the Wind Blows ). German by Wolf Kugler and Alexander Schmitz . Krüger, Frankfurt am Main 1987, 40 pages, ISBN 3-8105-0229-4
See also
Web links
- When the Wind Blows in the Internet Movie Database (English)