Mr-Fusion
Stick figures and mayhem; it's not exactly what I'd expect a memorable short film to evolve from, but there it is. And it is spectacular. What I really love about "Rejected" is its boundless creativity. Within these vignettes of genial decapitations, bleeding anuses and oversized spoons is a blistering comment on consumerism trumping art. And it's not a dominant message, but one that fits perfectly within the narrative of an artist slowing losing his grip. And that's exactly why this is so funny: it's pure madness festering to the point of anarchy.This was my introduction to Don Hertzfeldt ("Mah spoon is too big!" is all over the Internet) and seeing the whole movie was like opening a package on Christmas morning. Its wit straddles the line between sophomoric and razor=sharp like a pro, and it is truly a lot of fun!10/10
MartinHafer
This film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2001--losing to the extremely sentimental (think 'boring') FATHER AND DAUGHTER. While I personally preferred the extremely dark THE PERIWIG-MAKER, REJECTED was my second favorite of the nominated films.I have learned that although I liked REJECTED, it has a major cult following and it's thought of as a work of genius. While I certainly wouldn't go that far and am not ready to become a card-carrying Hertzfeldt cult member, I certainly enjoyed the film--that is once the film got going. In the beginning, a bunch of supposedly rejected promotional films for the Family Network were shown and I wasn't all that impressed. They were bad but nothing memorable. However, I am glad I resisted my urge to stop watching the film. The next batch of supposedly rejected films were much, much sicker--in other words, they were so disgusting and violent that they had me laughing out loud. And I am not talking about a little laugh, but a huge one. Because the characters were little more than stick figures, the utterly bloody and gross promos really hit home. Later, the film changes and becomes much more disorganized and crazy--supposedly mirroring the author's disintegrating mental state! The film, though awfully simple artistically, was a hoot--funny and original. I liked it so much, I made my daughter watch it. Give it a look.By the way, I can probably safely assume that the phrase "my anus is bleeding" probably occurred in no Oscar nominated film before or since!
carlylegroup
Hertzfeldt made this film with the intention of engaging in some sort of social criticism. Unfortunately, all he's created bizarre mediocrity.It is not enough for art to merely obtusely react to the status quo. On the most fundamental level, art must provide truth and insight. Otherwise, it is relegated to haplessly flailing around in an inane pursuit of shock and controversy. When art depicts truth, it shakes the very foundations of the contemporary social order without a second thought.In the end, revulsion to a contradictory world is only the first step in an honest political and artistic portrayal of it. As Trotsky wrote in 1923, "You can't scream louder than war and revolution."
el_monty_BCN
I happen to adore the humour of the absurd. I am a fan of absurd comedians such as Monty Python, especially of their wackiest sketches, and since I discovered this wonderful gem of a short film, I can't help but rewatch it every now and then and I laugh out loud every time. I think it's a work of genius. Sometimes I wish it was longer, much longer, but I realize that would inevitably detract from the freshness.I see from the comments that some people don't seem to get this kind of stuff, or worse still, they take it seriously, at face value, and apparently think that these adverts are real and Hertzfeld's mind maybe really was damaged... Well, I think that could be taken as praise for this deranged creation.
AD
