In the Aftermath: La pesadilla del mañana

An unnamed time, an unnamed place, probably Australia given the accents. The earth is dying from a poisoned atmosphere, in this post-apocalyptic live action / anime /art house crossover. The remains of humanity scour the surface in search of hope, until one of them is found by an angel.

It's bizarre, the animated sequences are nicely designed, but suffers from a lack of frames. The live-action is well done for low-budget stuff, and the integration is pretty minimal, but the whole sort-of works.

Being a fan of animes (i.e., Japanese animation), I am familiar with the movie 'Angel's Egg' by Mamoru Oshii. Some time ago, a friend told me there was a movie which had used scenes from that anime: 'In The Aftermath'. After some research I managed to get a copy of that film...

I didn't have high expectations, but that experience was far beyond my worst nightmares. I've never seen a piece of art (and I mean 'Angel's Egg'!) being torn to pieces in such a radical way. About 30 min. of the original anime footage were used for 'In The Aftermath'. The rest of the film consists of live sequences that have been done so poorly it just hurts: C-class movie actors stumbling around with gas masks in a deserted chemical factory most of the time, special effects that don't deserve the name, and a 'story' that tries desperately to bring some sense to a plot that was never meant to have any sense at all (sounds strange, doesn't it? Go on and you'll know what I mean).

The anime 'Angel's Egg' in my opinion is a real masterpiece. You may like it or not, but everybody who has seen this movie agrees that it is something unique. However, its director Mamoru Oshii admitted in several interviews that even he didn't know what its story was about - if there was any at all.

Obviously, Carl Colpaert decided to add that lacking sense by combining some of the anime sequences with a real movie to create 'In The Aftermath'. He failed miserably. The combination doesn't work at all. If it would have been an attempt to create a parody, it would just have been annoying. But this movie was an honest attempt to improve the Japanese original, and that's what really makes it so bad.

According to IMDB, 'In The Aftermath' was the first movie Carl Colpaert ever directed. I sincerely hope that he (or anybody else) may never try something like that again...

As films go this is was just tolerable, I didn't feel like i had wasted time that i'd never get back, however If your expecting to see great acting and expensive sets you'll be disappointed,this is a low budget film, good idea but a poor execution due to budget constraints.the only outstanding part of the film is a piece of music in it called carnavalito tango, the day after it was on TV i met some friends for a drink, some of them are real knuckle dragging neanderthals, the first topic of conversation was about the film and that piece of music which i have been searching for for quite some time, my only reason for wanting to see the film again would be just to record that track

In this experimental animation and live action hybrid post-apocalyptic indie film you really need to have a taste for such films as they are not done with your traditional story and filmmaking aesthetics. For some, the film does meander and seem to be unfocused but it has an interesting concept especially if you're able to appreciate it. It is definitely not for everyone especially those who have never seen the animated film Angel's Egg (I still haven't yet). The performances are not strong but that doesn't really take away from the film, overall, This being said, the visuals are interesting and for the most part, this avant garde film is easy to follow.

Most who're interested in this film have interest because it contains images from Oshii's surreal masterpiece "Tenshi no Tamago." With Tenshi no Tamago lacking a proper release abroad, one may feel tempted to pick up a copy of "In the Aftermath" just to view the plundered footage. Do not do it! The acting is awful, the direction is pointless and cheesy, and the special effects could have been better done with equipment found lying about the house. It's a third-rate film with a fourth-rate production. The usage of the footage from Tenshi no Tamago, a true art film, is shameful and unacceptable. Fans of campy science fiction would do better to pick up an arm-full of TROMA flicks from the video store.