kurosawakira
This would be the ultimate 3D film experience. I wanted to see this again as preparation for Tarkovsky's "Nostalghia" (1983), which I've long regarded as one of the most amazing films ever made. This, I think, exhibits the same kind of existential meta-melancholy that's somehow deeply rooted in the fabric of the creative process depicted by many of the Russian artists; then, as noted, this has an amazingly perceptive visual eye making it more than a fitting prelude.It's like entering an infant's dream. Everything is new, nothing is named. What we see is emotion. Color as emotion, motion as emotion, character as emotion. The layered images are stunning, and the eye moves restlessly, zooming in and out on objects and is at times perplexingly active as if it didn't know where it was going, and at times hesitantly passive.Dreams of a dreamed up being, the maroon light swallowing the thin silhouette-like figures. The minotaur-like figure jumping rope. The wolf, alone in the forest at the fire, taken in by the mysterious light (a sure influence on Polanski and his The Ninth Gate [1999]). This must've been a great influence on Chomet, as well.This is on par with and in my estimation exceeds "L'Homme qui plantait as arbres" (1988), and a very worthy companion for the best of the Quay Brothers as short animation that reshapes how we see and think, and most importantly, how we dream.
Rectangular_businessman
This is one of the most beautiful and fascinating shorts ever made, I loved the animation and the music of this. After I saw "Hedgehog in the Fog" I became very interested in the Russian animation, but specially in the shorts of Yuriy Norshteyn.This short is considered to be one of the best animations ever made, and I can clearly see why: Every single frame of this short are not only beautiful to look at, but also have a deep, emotional meaning. At first it seems like something confusing or disjointed (However it is still a absolute pleasure to watch) but after multiple viewings the intentions of the animators seem clearer. I am not sure if this is the best animation ever made, All I know is that I loved this.
Eumenides_0
This movie exists pretty much in its own world. It's not enough to say that this is an animated movie and so exists in a fantasy world. Many animated movies exist in quite realistic worlds, with just a few exaggerations. No, this movie is to the worlds of animation what the worlds of animation are to our world. It's a dream world, purely abstract, about feelings and nostalgia and sadness and confusion and even humor.It's also a movie about the least frightening wolf in the history of fairy-tales, and the art of imagination and the world of fairy-tales.And it's animated in a warm style that brings back childhood memories of the plush dolls that gave us a sense of security. Yuriy Norshteyn created one of the finest animated movies with Tale of Tales.
thecygnet
In most people's head the animation film is connected to Disney movies or to Japanese manga animation films, which are very hip nowadays. But everyone seems to overlook Russian animators. The most influential of them is Yuri Norstein, whose timeless masterpiece was awarded at the festival of animation films in Los Angeles in 1984 and at many other film festivals throughout the world. But why is this short half-an-hour movie so beautiful?Firstly, because Norstein has a matchless visual style. I expected something special after I've read about the film and before I saw it but what I got is something extraordinary: breathtaking pictures, fantastically clever use of mixed media, fine classical music. Secondly, because of the complex, symbol-ridden story, which is rooted in the Russian mythology. The story is about childhood innocence, the loss of the loved ones and the duty of the artist. It's very European, very Eastern-European and because I'm from Hungary and our past is very similar, this animation film is much closer to me than the American or Japanese ones.
AD
