Thursday, July 22, 2010

Inja (Dog)

In South Africa, not long before apartheid ends, a kid of about 12, Thembile, gets a new puppy. They're fast friends, until the White landowner hurts the dog so the dog "will learn." Jump ahead ten years, the dog is very loyal to the White landowner...maybe even too loyal.
Afrikaans and English with English subtitles.


Fait d'Hiver (Gridlock)

Caution, brief nudity.
A man stuck in traffic calls home on his new cell phone just to check up on things. When his daughter answers, he is horrified to find out that his wife is upstairs with "Uncle Wim." But they don't have an Uncle Wim.
Dutch with English subtitles
Oh and be warned, this is a very very dark comedy.

Atama Yama (Mt. Head)

A stingy man who never throws away anything collects cherries from the ground. When eating these cherries, he decides not to waste the pits but to eat them too.  As a result, a cherry tree grows out of his head.
Japanese with English subtitles.
This is also done in a musical style, much like Japanese stories are normally with some very abstract overtones to it.

The ChubbChubbs

The evil ChubbChubbs are on their way to attack a bar on this far away planet and it's the job of a little alien to warn everybody of the incoming doom.  But guess what.  No one listens to him.
Academy Award winner animation 2003.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Fan and the Flower

The relationship between a fan and a flower.
Academy Award nominee.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

MUTO

Animated graffiti around a big city on the walls and buildings and floor. This is really cool and is very similar and made by the same people as the last one. I like this video better though. It's pretty cool and once again it doesn't have much of a discernible story line.

Big Bang Big Boom

Graffiti on walls and buildings move around and become animated.  No real story line but it's still pretty cool. Although it might just be me but it's a bit dizzying.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The Moon and the Son

After his father died, John Canemaker still had a lot of questions for him.  This short film documentary is a made-up interview between John and his father trying to tell the story of his life and answer some pressing questions.
Now this may sound pretty boring but I actually found it to be very interesting. The way it is told, revealing only portions of the story at a time as if keeping a secret and the way animation is used to tell the story are just great.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Viaje a Marte (Journey to Mars)

A little boy goes on an adventure with his grandpa who says he is taking them to Mars.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Ward 13

Ben is taken to hospital. After waking up, Ben realizes that he's being held in an experimental hospital where everything is mysterious. After seeing one experimental patient in the next room, Ben realizes that it is time to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.