Landmark Theatres (Uptown Theatre, Edina Cinema and Lagoon Cinema) does a wonderful job presenting series of short films. One ticket buys you several stories in a single package, a sort-of kid-in-a-candy-store vibe for devoted cinephiles. Paris, Je T’aime (coming soon in February 2009, the sequel New York, I Love You) and the collection of 2007 Academy Award nominated short films–both animated and live action–were all quite enjoyable theater experiences.
It’s amazing what filmmakers can do with a limited running time; shorts typically clock in anywhere from two minutes to forty. Some are hindered by the restrictions. Others thrive, telling stories free of filler like a well-cut steak without an ounce of fat. It’s an interesting viewing experience, and a great way for a filmmaker to sharpen his or her craft. After all, nearly every filmmaker’s early works are done in short story format. And if you’re a fan of film podcasts, check out The Hollywood Saloon’s episode titled "Early Works," a nearly four-hour program discussing some well-known filmmakers’ first films.
Some of my favorite film moments of the past few years have been shorts. The best segment in Paris, Je T’aime was Tom Tykwer’s (writer/director of the fantastic Run Lola Run) titled "Faubourg Saint-Deniss." This is the definition of pure cinema: using fast cuts, time-lapse photography and strong imagery to tell the story of an entire relationship between a man and woman–something that usually takes directors at least 90 minutes–in only five. It’s breathtaking to watch, and extremely creative. I enjoyed all five of the 2007 Oscar-nominated collection of animated shorts: most notably Josh Raskin’s I Met the Walrus, a brilliant combination of guerilla-style reporting/interviewing with inspired graphic-design elements; Suzie Templeton’s nostalgic stop-motion recreation of the beloved Sergei Prokofiev composition Peter & the Wolf (it won the Oscar) transported me back to my childhood in all the right ways; and Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski’s Madame Tutli-Putli is 17 minutes of pure brilliance, with the most impressive stop-motion animation I have ever seen. Their painstaking work creates an animated character so expressive I have to constantly remind myself she isn’t real. Madame Tutli-Putli is so transfixing, telling the story of a woman with literal and metaphorical baggage getting onto a train and confronting this baggage head-on as the film devolves in to a creepy, David Lynch-style descent in to hell.
The Lagoon Theatre is currently screening a new collection of animated shorts. Mike Judge’s (of Office Space and Beavis and Butthead fame) The Animation Show 4 is a mostly-enjoyable gathering of animators’ work from around the world. The best thing about Animation Show 4 is the pacing. If one short fails (which several do) it’s on to the next story within five to ten minutes.
According to the official website, The Animation Show was started as an annual feature-length theatrical compilation of short films from around the world, exclusively curated by Mike Judge and Academy Award-nominated animator Don Hertzfeldt (Billy’s Balloon, Rejected, The Meaning of Life).
The site states, "As animation continues to be plagued as the single most misunderstood film medium, the animated short film is sadly undervalued and underexposed in American cinema, despite widespread appreciation throughout the rest of the world. With luck, popular animated shorts may see limited theatrical play, but most are relegated to the dungeons of the internet, or with luck, DVD.
"The theatrical animation festival was born in 1976 with the launch of the Fantastic Animation Festival. This was the first show to create the now-universal "program on a flyer" and the first to receive a first-run 35mm theatrical release. The Fantastic Festival‘s popularity helped pave the way shortly thereafter for similar commercial programs throughout the 80s and 90s, including Spike and Mike’s Festival of Animation, The Tournee of Animation, and several others that came and went with varying success.
"The Animation Show launched in 2003, making it the first festival of animation created and produced with actual animators at the helm. A sister series of high quality Animation Show DVDs now supplement the theatrical tour with additional insights and brand new lineups of films – while the main Show remains a unique and unforgettable annual program that is usually gone forever once it is out of theaters. Every year the Show works diligently to put animated shorts into more theaters than any festival in American history, giving these filmmakers the wide exposure their work deserves and sharing their short masterpieces on the big screen, where they belong."
While I agree with almost all of that sentiment, I do take issue with the offhand use of the word masterpiece. The good certainly outweigh the bad in this collection. However, several shorts cracked under the weight of mediocre, one-joke premises. The first episode of Yompi the Crotch-Biting Sloup featuring Corky Quakenbush (that has to be a made-up name) made me laugh; by the third episode I was annoyed. The name says it all. Yompi is a yellow, Gumby-styled character with what looks like a crown of shit on his head who, wait for it, bites unsuspecting people in the crotch. I initially embraced its low-brow aspirations, and giggled because the characters’ voices are hysterical in their Charlie Brown-esque mumble with a more high-pitched tinge. Nothing is added with each episode of Yompi rendering it completely unnecessary after the first. I had a similar reaction to Satoshi Tomioka’s Usavich.
Some of the repeating animators’ works were more hit-or-miss. I loved French production company Gobelins’ deranged and violent Blind Spot (written and directed by Johanna Bessiere, Cecile Dubois Herry, Simon Rouby, Nicolas Chauvelot, Olivier Clert, Yvon Jardel), about a holdup of a convenience store that goes horribly wrong and ends on a dark-as-midnight note. The other three entries from Gobelins–Voodoo, Cocotte Minute and Burning Safari–were just okay. Dave Carter’s Psychotown from Australia was amusing but tiresome as well.
My favorites in the program really stick out as great works. Stefan Mueller’s Mr. Schwartz, Mr. Hazen, Mr. Horlocker from Germany used a hybrid of live-action, 2D and computer animation to give life to the story of a cop going to an apartment complex to check on a noise complaint. The tale is told from several points of view, literally rewinding to bring us inside all the tenants’ apartments. It is very funny and twisted. Love Sport: Paintballing was like watching an Atari version of a paintball war which worked wonderfully. Jeu was a fascinating, expressionistic moving painting with a labyrinthine take on modern life.
Key Lime Pie by Trevor Jiminiz crafted a welcome mix of 40’s style black-and-white film noir, Night of the Hunter (the lead character has ‘love’ and ‘hate’ tattooed on his knuckles) and Edward Hopper paintings to tell the Homer Simpson-like story of a guy selling his soul for a piece of key lime pie. Other shorts I enjoyed included This Way Up, Hot Dog, Forgetfulness and John and Karen.
The crowning achievement in this program is Western Spaghetti by PES. This is two minutes of pure brilliance with Michel Gondry-inspired DIY effects. Think Science of Sleep but with cooking. The entire short is watching a disembodied hand as it prepares and cooks spaghetti. No rea
l food was used, though. Instead this incredibly talented and creative animator (or animators, it’s not made entirely clear) uses everyday household items to create the dish: a set of multi-colored pick-up sticks are the noodles, yarn as grated cheese, a red pin cushion is the tomato which is sliced up to make the sauce and chess pieces are salt and pepper shakers. Sounds pedestrian as hell, but this little short held the audience in awe more than any of the other stories (I heard several proclamations of "oh that’s so cool" coming from the audience). Go to PES’s website to see more incredible work.
So support this small group of animators. It makes for a different, fun movie-going experience, which we need more of at our cinemas. You won’t be disappointed, I venture, and you might see the beginnings of a future filmmaker who will wow us all with a full-length feature someday. You never know.
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