Annecy 2011 – Day 5
Films in Competition Five
Zbignievs Cupboard
Dir. Magdalena Anna Osinska (Poland/Great Britain)
The first thing that struck me about this film was how well put together it was. The short had a great depth and black humour that is rare in films of this nature. The characters are well realized and the story is well structured. It all comes together to make an extremely enjoyable piece of stop motion.
Blind Date
Dir. Nigel Davies (Great Britain)
Brits are often told they are quirky and they don’t really come more quirky than this as a stranded lighthouse keeper searches for love on the internet, her date comes to her, as the saying goes ‘like a moth to the flame’. It is a well animated and pleasant to watch film.
Luminaris
Dir, Juan Pablo Zaramella (Argentina)
I find Pixelation hard to enjoy and cannot really class in the same way as other forms of animation. Look at them, outside in the fresh air having fun, when we proper animators have to sit in a dark room all alone. As this film starts I thought to myself what I think when I see most pixilation, ‘here comes another Norman McLaren wannabe’. But Luminaris is different. Luminaris is a fantastic! The film takes the medium of pixilation and pushes it to its full potential capturing you in a zany world of delights, which lead to a satisfying and surprise conclusion. It’s easy to call films ‘clever’ but if this film were a person it would have PHDs coming out of its ears.
Apres Moi
Dirs. Patrice Killoffer, Paul-Emile Boucher, Thomas Bozovic, Madeleine Charruaud, Dorianne Fibleuil, Benjamin Flouw, Mickael Riciotti, Antoine Robert (France)
Blimey! What a load of directors. This film centres on a particularly nasty individual who magically multiplies and before long his entire world is populated by himself and who we presume to be his girlfriend. The film is created in pure black and white which gives it a graphic novel feel and it should come to no surprise that Patrice Killoffer is a graphic artist.
Kubla Khan
Dir. Joan Gratz (USA)
What an accomplishment. This seamless parade of images set to a poem looks to be oil paint on glass but is actually clay. It’s a marvel to watch as gorgeous scene after gorgeous scene effortlessly blend into one another.
Dimanche (Sunday)
Dir. Patrick Doyon (Canada)
We join a young man as he goes through a humdrum dull Sunday, visiting church, visiting the grandparents and generally feeling alone and getting in the way. An off the wall gag turns into a poignant moment in the young boys life with a slight magical quality to it. This film is a fantastic caricature of childhood that entertains throughout.
Clean Carousel
Dir. Andreas Bodker (Denmark)
This film would not be out of place in ‘Spike and Mikes, Sick and Twisted Festival’ as a carousel owner goes to violent extremes to keep his pride and joy spotlessly clean. Although it starts off kind of slow and dull before long the pace picks up and the violent twists bring the film to life.
Millhaven
Dir. Bartek Kulas (Poland)
A creepy little girl sings a continuous song about all the horrid ways everyone has died in her town, soon becoming a trip through her psychology and ultimately we see her downfall and the song comes to an end but the chorus of ‘lalalalaaa’ remains in your head like it’s the Birdie Song. It’s put together nicely and the song format works really well even if it is a little bit repetitive.
The Monster of Nix
Dir. Rosto (Netherlands/France/Belgium)
Set within a unique fantasy world, this film takes themes that we have already seen before and twists them around to offer something new. An interesting form of animation is used here as live action actors bodies have CGI heads composited over them. This is a curious looking technique and although not blatant, once you notice it you may find it difficult to think of anything else. This film treats the audience like they should automatically understand the world in which it is set, which is a mistake as the overlong run time could easily accommodate an introduction allowing us time to appreciate the universe these characters inhabit. Instead the film starts like the computer game cut scene as we are rushed into this bizarre fantasy land which although it is well crafted and deep it lacks the right story structure ultimately resulting in it being slightly bewildering.