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| Wind |
The lion’s share of naughty bits comes in the bizarre first quarter short Oh Willy… (Emma De Swaef & Marc James Roels, Belgium/France/Netherlands/Luxembourg), which has willies galore. Willy, a whimsical sock puppet, goes native following the death of his dear wife. It’s strange to see this plump little figure in his birthday suit, since he’s the only character in the film to hide his body before the funeral. Everyone else just lets his sock hang out. Oh Willy is a fun little adventure, albeit one that feels weird for the sake of being weird, but it’s a highlight among Short Competition 1 for the originality of its animation and especially for its eye-catching rendering of sunlight that glistens through the quirky adult tale. It’s a most unexpected love story, sock cocks and all.
More peters flap in the excellent film Wind (Robert Loebel,
Germany) that proves to be the standout film of this competition programme. Wind is a brilliantly conceived and
realized film that shows the daily life of a group of people living in an area
with unnatural wind speeds. Hilarious sight jokes ensue as hair and hats blow
with the breeze, as do babies, dog tinkle, and, naturally, men’s endowments.
Loebel provides striking use of motion and texture to Wind as the wind particles fly past the characters who struggle
against the blow. Wind marks the high
point of Short Competition 1 because it brilliantly fuses concept and conceit.
The innovative animation drives the playful story and style, thus making for a great
series of laughs whilst admiring the hand of an emerging animation master. Wind is a delight.
Short Competition 1 also includes a trio of enjoyable
ditties that fuse sound and style. Choir Tour (Edmunds Janson, Latvia)
is a droll tale of 'boys will be boys' that sees a flurry of school lads
infuriate their schoolmarm as they buzz around with a mantra that'll be in
viewers’ heads for days. Also bound to bring childlike smiles to faces are Na Ni
Nu Ne No No (Manabu Himeda, Japan), a delightfully manic dance number,
and Ohayo
Carotene (Saki Iyori, Japan), which us a colorfully energetic finale to
the programme. Both Na and Ohaya give bouncy, vibrant animations in
sync with an upbeat, buoyant tune.
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| Hollow Land. Photo courtesy of the NFB |
The trio of musicals are complemented by a quartet of
promotional videos in SC1, which go beyond memorable jingles. Among them is 1/3/10
(Georges Schwizgebel, Canada), which is a compelling plea to free imprisoned
Iranian filmmakers like Jafar Panahi. The best of the animated adverts, though,
is the app ad I am Alone and My Head is on Fire (David O'Reilly, Canada), whcih
is every bit as strange and funny as the title less you to expect it to be.
Shorts Competition 1, finally, includes a few dark tales to
balance the programme and ensure that items not all smiles and chuckles. Among
the two stories of shipwrecks is Hollow Land (Michelle Kranot &
Uri Kranot, Denmark/France/Canada), which strands an expectant couple on a seemingly
utopian island where everyone sports toilet plungers as hats. Bathroom fixtures
might not be the ideal thing to be born into, but this unusual mixed media
horror tale take deftly balances black humor with dystopian darkness. It's a
surreal experience.
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| The Event |
Rounding out the highlights of Short Competition 1 is an
unsettling tale of the end of the world. The Event (Julia Pott, UK) is an
unusual love story that brings an originality of vision for animation and
storytelling alike. It’s haunting tale of two furries enduring a severed foot
and impending doom brings Short Competition 1 to a strong finish. The Event a unique standout in the programme, but it has some naughty
bits, too, so it doesn’t seem the least bit out of place.
Short Competition 1 screens:
Friday, Sept. 20 at the National Gallery at 3:00 pm.
