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Je prie de différer mon ami...
Mrs. Cegavske clearly states in her commentary that she does not choose to *tell us* what her symbolism means! Thus leaving us to discover our own meaning... such is art. And this is at its core an art film via the medium of Stop Motion Animation.
She clearly had a demonstrable mastery over the personalities of her creatures, living and breathing life into them over the decade of animating their world. Some may lack even a soft focus to take it in whole-cloth... such is the curse of the soft machine in its unrefined state.
As far as comparing her work via other artistic films, this is a magnum opus that few modern Americans seem capable of anymore. I think M. Barney's Cremaster Cycle is of a similar scope although altogether a different beast. I think the CGI herd of consumer product tie-in driven pabulum can't hold a candle to this class of animated art. No fast food toys are promoting this feature!
I hope her next two films will come out in a shorter time frame while holding level with, if not building on, her obvious talents.
One thing I note is that she is a solo female filmmaker while most of the prior stop motion we have seen comes from the imaginations of men... an obvious point of departure and perspective in this film. Not since Lotte Reiniger's cut-outs have we seen this level of work on the silver screen from a female artist.
*Minor spoiler* For me the scene depicting the cats-cradle showcases how extraordinary this woman's technical skills are and in addition to the gravity defying scenes created by ONE set of hands! Mark Growden deserves his due in cross-defining the films tempo and tempest with his soundtrack.
This film takes its rightful place among true art-films, amazing but marginalized, particularly within the American marketplace choked blue by our cultural moneychangers!
score 10/10
apsulute 6 December 2007
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1775711/ |
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22-2-2021 12:05:11