When the Wind Blows

In a picturesque rural English town, an elderly couple, Jim and Hilda Bloggs, go about their day-to-day lives, unaware of the impending doom that threatens to disrupt their tranquility. As the Soviet-Afghan War rages on, the couple hears rumors of a potential nuclear attack, but they remain unphased, confident in their government's ability to protect them. Jim takes it upon himself to build a fallout shelter, following the instructions from a government-issued pamphlet, while Hilda continues her daily routine as usual. When a radio transmission warns of an imminent ICBM strike, the couple rushes to their shelter and manages to escape the devastation that follows. As they emerge from their shelter, they find that all utilities and services have been destroyed, and the landscape around them is scorched and barren. Despite this grim reality, Jim and Hilda try to maintain a sense of normalcy, preparing meals on a camping stove and going about their daily routines as best they can. However, as the days go by, they begin to feel the effects of radiation sickness - their optimism fading as they struggle to cope with the lack of food, water and communication from the outside world. Hilda's health deteriorates rapidly, and she experiences bloody diarrhea and bleeding gums. Jim tries to comfort her, but his attempts are met with resistance. As they near death, Hilda suggests they lie down in the paper sacks that Jim had prepared for them. Resigned to their fate, Jim agrees; as they crawl into the sacks, he recites prayers before starting to read "The Charge of The Light Brigade". The dying Hilda weakly asks him not to continue, leading to both of them passing away quietly. The film ends with another couple, who have also survived by building their own fallout shelter, listening to a Morse code signal tapping out "MAD" - mutual assured destruction - over their radio, as they sit in their shelter, surrounded by empty cans and debris already. This animated film paints a haunting picture of how even the most mundane lives can be forever changed by war and its devastating consequences.

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Some movies that have similar genres and were produced around the same time as When the Wind Blows include Grave of the Fireflies, The Land Before Time, The Secret of NIMH, My Neighbor Totoro, Riding Bean, An American Tail.

When the Wind Blows was released in theaters on March 11, 1988.