The Darkest Movie You Haven’t Seen

This is a reupload of my video on Raymond Briggs masterpiece book 'When The Wind Blows' and the movie adaptation that followed, re edited to use as little footage from the film as possible. Hope you enjoy.

[errorvr]

The paper bags is one of the best foreshadowings I’ve seen. It’s something subtle, something you wouldn’t notice at first, but realize later on. This movie really captures the real situation, and does it so good.

[JG-ptxe]

One scene worth mentioning is when Jim and Hilda smell what they think is roasted meat and Hilda assumes that it's coming from people having dinner in their homes...while the camera pans over what vaguely resemble the skeletal remains of a dog and a person, before transitioning to the wreckage of a small city, where the camera stops on a melted teddy bear.

[nitrorock]

I think there's definitely a point where Jim realizes that they're a lot worse off than he lets on. The fact that they bring up the ID's again after getting in the potato sacks is pretty clear proof to me that they know they're dying, and have understood the true purpose of the bags.

[MackenzieNerdyEMT]

I remember being in hawaii when that "ballistic missle imbound" warning came through. We were at my families house where we would have died no matter what. I had my young daughter with me and we just played candyland and hung out laughing as a family because at that point there would have been no point to try and hide.

[theotherjared]

When the wind blows is technically a sequel to the graphic novel Gentleman Jim. It stars the same couple but younger. Jim is a toilet cleaner dissatisfied with his position in life, so he dreams up a more exciting life. All his attempts at chasing his passions end up backfiring, and he learns to be happy with what he has. This story certainly recontextualizes that ending.

[karma]

One thing that just stuck with me was how they had a cellar. Its horrifying to know they could've had a chance to survive.

[kwiz]

The “grainy white spots” that float around near the end of the movie could be a nod to when they’re wondering about what fallout looks like when they first step outside after the bomb had gone off. They’re speculating and the husband says something to the tune of “I reckon it would look like snow”. My guess is the white specks on the screen and to show they’re both fully aware at that point that they’ve been exposed to the fallout

[melaniemanning]

Thats the most terrifying and sad thing I've ever seen. No sugar coating, no ending before the hardest parts, but fading into death.

[Tevans]

Its horrifying because the couples personalities have traits that most peoples grandparents have. They also dress the same as a lot of our grandparents. Its hard to watch this and not think of your grandparents in this scenario, clueless, patriotic, and happy despite the most sinister thing imaginable happening to them. I won't forget this for a while.

[carolinagalvan-a]

Looking at the image of Jim singing “smile” while slowly dying is so haunting and strangely beautiful with how hopeful he is, it’s enough to make me wanna cry. I think the bags becoming realistic is very interesting. I see it as not just reality setting in, but also the idea that they are becoming apart of the background, as if just another miscellaneous object destroyed in the blast.

[amberblunt]

That moment when Hilda says "should we have used the cellar, dear?" just made my jaw drop and I nearly pulled my own hair out, mentally screaming you poor, silly couple!"

[xdashlydia]

"We will all go together when we go" is a Tom Lehrer song from the early '60s; great choice to highlight the generational difference between father and son.

[arglebargle]

I was born smack in the middle of the Cold War, and my parents, for some awful reason, got me this book when I was like 11.
Scared the ever living stuffing out of me and set up a persistent fear of nuclear war that took me years to cope with.
Funny enough when I realized that we were within the flash radius of a military base, the idea of instant painless death made it a lot easier to cope. The ending of this book, while well written with a lovely soft art style, is literally nightmare fuel.

[oxymoron]

On the subject of their son, I'd actually wager that their denial plays a part here. They know, they have a gut feeling, that everything is so much worse than they're deluding themselves. By not mentioning their son, it means neither one of them has to face the very likely situation that he is now dead.

[TheGerkuman]

I don't think Jim worked it out from the start, but the film does imply that he realises it about 10 mins before the finale. (When he's giving Hilda a hug he says 'It's just the side effects of the Bomb...' and there's a dramatic musical sting while his face seems to show recognition, especially since he knows she can't see it.) Which seems about right for his character.

[monaalyn]

My high school had a play about this story and I got to play as Hilda. Seeing it play out on stage and getting to act as a character in the story is truly something I'll never forget experiencing. I was actually feeling bad for the characters and I wanted to tell them "noooo you can't go outside after the bomb!! you can't walk to where the bomb dropped!! don't drink the rain!!" but I couldn't. It felt so surreal that I was acting out my own death in a way. Knowing what was coming but not being able to stop it while having to act oblivious. Truly horrifying.

[Tunade]

When Jim yells “Come back you stupid bitch and get in the shelter!” that’s meant to shock you in purpose. It also serves as a tone shift for the movie, changing from this calm and casual day for Jim and Hilda, to something that will shock you and possibly have you covering your mouth, which is what I did when Jim said those 10 words.

[callenbyrne]

Him not remembering what the bag was for and them coming back to them at the end is one of the most powerful pieces of media ive ever seen.

[-desertpackrat]

"The cake will be burnt", is such a realistic disassociation that people engage in. Worrying about something small instead of the actual traumatic event you're dealing with. Like once one of my pet rats I was very close to had died, and I buried him, and that night it rained, and I started crying because I was thinking "he's out there cold and alone in the rain, my poor baby." He was dead.. he couldn't feel anything, but it was easier for my brain to obsess over the cold and rain and not the fact that he was completely gone forever, something that I was still having trouble processing.

[mclovin]

I'm constantly reminded of the Hitchhikers Guide.

"Should we lie down, or put bags on our heads?"

"If you like."

"Will it help?"

"Probably not."