The symbolism in itself, is too obvious. The radiant use of minimalist colouring (which really is subtle and well handled, and hats off to the animators who made this), the fluency with which the motion was carried (which also, was impressive for animation of its time), and the story carried by only three characters in total - the man bearing the cross, the young girl, and the egg - all, sadly, lead to the symbolism which is the core of the story.
In that respect, I give it a higher rating in terms of art, sound, character, and enjoyment - Minimalism is not an easy approach, and so I do appreciate this early Mimoro Oshii work. The characters, even with the minimalism, are mysteriously attractive, and you do find some way to relate with them. Even the non-interacting characters (such as fishes and the men - you'll know once you see this movie in full) are intriguing. The ambience with its - remarkably - good use of choir and - in my opinion - 19th Century Russian orchestral music, add to the overall experience.
It is a definitive watch, and even with my biased rating of the story, it does not deprive anything towards this work. The artwork is gorgeous, the animation is fluid, the characters are mysteriously charming, the symbolism is rich, the environment is surreal and ignites inspiration, and overall it is worth the 1hr 11min.
