Jim and Hilda are two English retirees, living in a cottage in the country. War with Russia seems imminent and Jim starts taking precautions against a nuclear attack. Remembering World War 2, Jim and Hilda staunchly believe that everything will be okay, even if nuclear weapons are involved. But will it?Powerful, poignant anti-war movie. Mixes nonchalance and English laugh-in-the-face of danger humour with some incredibly shocking reminders of the effects of nuclear war. Funny and terrifying, all at the same time.Quite emotional too. We see flashes of Jim and Hilda's history, the life they had, the simplicity and innocence of their existence and how this is shattered.

When the Wind Blows (1986) is an animated film directed by Jimmy T. Murakami and based on the graphic novel of the same name written by Raymond Briggs. It features the serene voices of John Mills and Peggy Ashcroft who voice Jim and Hilda Bloggs, a retired old couple living in the Sussex countryside. When the threat of Nuclear War starts to loom ominously, the stoic couple build a shelter in their home and set about storing provisions suggested by the government pamphlets. But do they, or anyone else, really understand the fall out of a nuclear strike?.There was a time in the 1980s when Nuclear War was a distinct possibility, paranoia was rife and adult folk actually started to contemplate the end of humanity. Film makers were quick to tap into the topic and produce movies to further stir those paranoid juices. America produced the dated but very impacting The Day After in 1983, with the film causing Ronald Reagan to reevaluate his Country's nuclear arms policy, while in 1984 the UK gave the cinema world the bleakly shattering Threads. A year prior to The Day After shaking the boots of those watching it, Raymond Briggs, author of the delightful The Snowman, was moving into more adult territory with his work. Propelled by a sense of loss for his parents, whom the Bloggs' are based on (they had featured in his Gentleman Jim 1980), he was inspired to write When the Wind Blows after watching a BBC television programme about nuclear contingency. Thus the film version was to arrive in 1986. Naturally in animated form, so as to simultaneously entice and awaken the kids of the day to Nuclear War possibility and the effects of such.When mooching around for some back story on Briggs and how he came to write it, I came upon a review for the film that chastised the characters for being stupid! Well it's more stoic naivety than stupidity say I, and it's that that drives When the Wind Blows forward. The stupidity comes with the government instructions in how to cope with such a nuclear attack. That these two amiable old pensioners, survivors of the last World War no less, can't grasp the seriousness of the situation is not stupidity, leaflets handed out gave hope that one could survive such an event. As they, as charming an old couple you could wish to meet by the way, go about their business out in the quaint countryside, they show a tender bond that can't be broken, not even by what they think is just the latest War. It's very much a we shall overcome attitude that gains emotional weight as the fall-out starts to take hold and our adorable couple become ill. Come the finale, all the acerbic touches and the underlying message at the film's core, hits home hard, yet Murakami still manages to keep it tender enough, ultimately doing justice to Briggs' excellent literary work.As potent now as it was back in the 80s. Lest we forget that the threat of War, nuclear or otherwise, is never far away from us all. 9/10

"When the Wind Blows", just like "Grave of the Fireflies" it's a heartbreaking animated tale about two innocent characters that had a childish vision of the world, and how the war has terrible effect on their lives.Despite the cute style of animation, that may look as something aimed for children, this movie is pretty disturbing and sad: The scenes aren't very explicit, but many parts of this movie shocked me a lot. However, I love this film, and I would recommend it to anyone (Unless you don't like to see sad movies) because, despite being pretty depressive and dark, it is also beautiful and moving. "When the Wind Blows" is one of the most intense, powerful and poetic films (animated or not) ever made. If you liked films as "Watership Down" "The Plague Dogs" and "Grave of the Fireflies" you couldn't miss this movie.

Loved every second of this movie it's an eye catching for real from beginning to end. The continuous dialogue that goes between the couple is so real and simple. It has a rich political content that's absolutely harmless but touching. Worth watching actually shouldn't miss it if you can. It may seem as a plain animation but it's the exact opposite, it's not plain at all. There are only two characters throughout the whole movie, but they're just more than enough. The way they chat to one another, argue, love, exchange opinion, and so on is amazingly expressive. Not forgetting the fact that it's been made in the 80's so I guess at the time picture perfect wasn't the goal and that really made it special as well.