animation

Sylvain Chomet: Les Triplettes de Belleville (2003)

Mar 13

I come back to Sylvain Chomet and Evgeni Tomov‘s ‘Les Triplettes de Belleville‘ every once a while to participate in and relive a cinematic experience that is quite unlike any other. Dark, idiosyncratic, powered by memorable flights of imagination, while reveling in it’s oddly humourous, grotesque and irreverent universe. It is also a lesson in the possibilities of the animation film, that, when technical brilliance weds inventive storytelling, you leave behind a cultural artifact that attains significance on it’s own strengths. A visual style of part graphic novella meets comic strip, and part European caricature brilliance, the cinematic space becomes uniquely ‘mythicaly’ evocative, and the remarkable characters of Madame Souza, Champion, Bruno and the Triplets themselves, linger in memory long past the final credit roll. Read More…

Michael Dudok de Wit: Animation Shorts 1992-2001

Sep 29

I first watched ‘Father and Daughter’ quite a few years back, and have never stopped watching it. The narrative sensitivity, technical finesse, and the labour of love was so evident and heartfelt. Dutch-British animator and illustrator Michael Dudok de Wit is part of a rare breed of creative artists whose work transcends spatio-temporal as well as socio-cultural boundaries, arguably, with relative ease. This is a selection of some of his best known animation shorts.

Jan Švankmajer: Animation Shorts II

Aug 05

I am a great admirer of Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer. I wish not to put a label to his work, but very often the tag ‘surrealism’ comes into play in describing his ‘super-real’ and very often, irreverent and thematically dark animation. Living and practicing his film craft throughout in his native Prague in the Czech Republic, Švankmajer’s vision of the world is uncoloured by chewing gum commercial imperatives. Which is, a good thing. Take a look.

Jan Švankmajer: Animation Shorts I

Jul 22

I am a great admirer of Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer. I wish not to put a label to his work, but very often the tag ‘surrealism’ comes into play in describing his ‘super-real’ and very often, irreverent and thematically dark animation. Living and practicing his film craft in his native Prague in the Czech Republic, Švankmajer’s vision of the world is uncoloured by chewing gum commercial imperatives. Which is, a good thing. Take a look.

Jan Švankmajer – Něco z Alenky aka “Something from Alice” (1988)

Jun 25

Švankmajer is probably one of the worlds best kept creative secrets, unfortunately. Hardly heard and known outside the initiated follower groups, Jan comes up with the most striking and thoughtful, or should I say stirring film narratives. Working in his native city of Prague throughout, his background in puppetry, sculpture and performance gives him a unique voice in animation-live action film making. Inimitable. See for yourself.