This simply styled animated short is about a young girl and her family who run a junkyard. She repairs electronic equipment in her tree house workshop, while her father drives the magnetic crane, and her mother runs the household.
One night at dinner time, a policewoman comes to the door and shows them mug shots of wanted criminals–cute fuzzy animals. Her father sends the nosy copper away with a well timed game of pull my finger.
After dinner, the girl meets with the fugitive alligator (okay, he's not fuzzy but he is cute) and the true extent of their crimes is revealed. Hidden in the woods, the jazz menagerie band illicitly broadcasts their performances on the girl's pirate radio setup.
A very cute short with a fine sounding jazz band who may or may not actually have been animals. No animals were harmed in the making of this cartoon.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Saturday, October 07, 2006
VIFF Review: The Net
This German documentary tries to link together 1960s counter-culture, the military industrial complex, the new world order, LSD, CIA mind control experiments, the Internet, metaphysics, and Gödel's incompleteness theorem all to the Unabomber–and all narrated in a female German monotone. If this sounds like the recipe for a mind-numbing mess, well that's pretty much what it is.
The film suffers from trying too hard to link everyone and everything to Ted Kaczynski. Even the most incidental subjects are presented in a conspiratorial light. Connections are insinuated but director Lutz Dammbeck offers only conjectures and speculation not proof.
About the only interesting thing that Dammbeck accomplishes is writing to Kaczynski and surprisingly entering into an ongoing correspondence. In German no less. Kaczynski's replies from his cell in the maximum security prison in Florence, CO are lucid and to the point. He even upbraids Dammbeck at one point for misrepresenting Gödel's incompleteness theorem and inappropriately applying it outside its mathematical domain.
As an idea for a film, exploring the societal roots which might underly and produce a Unabomber is a good one but unfortunately this film is not it.
The film suffers from trying too hard to link everyone and everything to Ted Kaczynski. Even the most incidental subjects are presented in a conspiratorial light. Connections are insinuated but director Lutz Dammbeck offers only conjectures and speculation not proof.
About the only interesting thing that Dammbeck accomplishes is writing to Kaczynski and surprisingly entering into an ongoing correspondence. In German no less. Kaczynski's replies from his cell in the maximum security prison in Florence, CO are lucid and to the point. He even upbraids Dammbeck at one point for misrepresenting Gödel's incompleteness theorem and inappropriately applying it outside its mathematical domain.
As an idea for a film, exploring the societal roots which might underly and produce a Unabomber is a good one but unfortunately this film is not it.
VIFF Review: Murch
Famed film editor Walter Murch is the subject of this documentary interview. He has put his cut and splice skills to films such as Apocalypse Now, The English Patient, The Godfather, THX-1138, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Touch of Evil. Not surprisingly, he went to film school with directors Francis Ford Coppola, and George Lucas.
This is mandatory viewing for any film students, or anyone who has any ambition to commit image to celluloid or nowadays hard drive. With his salt and pepper beard, and radio announcer voice he's an engaging and personable speaker. In great detail Murch explains his methods, techniques, and philosophy of editing together a film. Illustrative scenes are taken from the aforementioned movies. The filmmakers use jump cuts and other editing devices as Murch speaks to reinforce the point.
The filmmakers Edie and David Ichioka were in the audience and took questions after the screening. Edie was an assistant editor to Murch so he was quite open to her questions, and she had full access to him for two days. There were many questions and discussion about film editing technology from the audience. The film didn't touch on the transition from analog film splicing to digital editing systems. There was much interest in Murch's transition from the original non-linear editing system Avid to Apple Computer's later entrant Final Cut Pro.
This is mandatory viewing for any film students, or anyone who has any ambition to commit image to celluloid or nowadays hard drive. With his salt and pepper beard, and radio announcer voice he's an engaging and personable speaker. In great detail Murch explains his methods, techniques, and philosophy of editing together a film. Illustrative scenes are taken from the aforementioned movies. The filmmakers use jump cuts and other editing devices as Murch speaks to reinforce the point.
The filmmakers Edie and David Ichioka were in the audience and took questions after the screening. Edie was an assistant editor to Murch so he was quite open to her questions, and she had full access to him for two days. There were many questions and discussion about film editing technology from the audience. The film didn't touch on the transition from analog film splicing to digital editing systems. There was much interest in Murch's transition from the original non-linear editing system Avid to Apple Computer's later entrant Final Cut Pro.
VIFF Review: Absolute Wilson
This German produced documentary on famed stage director Robert Wilson is an insightful, and comprehensive portrait of the man and his unique style of stagecraft.
It starts with an account of his difficult childhood in Waco, Texas. Born into a strict conservative Christian family, he never felt like he fit in. He was painfully shy and had a stuttering problem. His childhood best friend was a black boy–a relationship between two outcasts of this very conservative and segregated society.
Trying to please his father, Wilson enrolled in pre-law at the University of Texas. Things did not go as planned as Wilson hated his studies, discovered his love for dance, came out of the closet, and tried to commit suicide.
With nothing left for him in Texas he went to New York and fell in with the experimental theatre community. He discovered he had an empathy with mentally and physically challenged youth, and put his theatre knowledge to use as therapy. In return, they influenced his early work. He adopted a deaf black boy Raymond Andrews who inspired and starred in his play Deafman Glance. He befriended Christopher Knowles, an autistic son of a friend. Knowles' repetitious behaviour and language inspired the repetitive phrases and gestures in A Letter to Queen Victoria.
It is never explicitly stated in the film, but I wonder if Wilson himself is a high functioning autistic. His behaviour sometimes borders on the insensitive and tyrannical. He is driven to work at all times, and has an exhausting travel schedule. His barely sleeps. His loft space has almost no comforts, but his living room is a sea of unusual chairs he has collected.
Wilson's success has been mainly in Europe and not America. Probably his biggest success in America has been the 1976 opera Einstein on the Beach. This collaboration with Philip Glass who composed the music brought both of them to fame. It was an artistic success but not a financial one which left Wilson $150,000 in debt on production costs. The Metropolitan Opera was no great help as they graciously allowed them to rent the house on a Sunday with incurred triple time wages. Thirty years later–an entire generation–would it be even possible to stage this groundbreaking work outside New York or San Francisco?
Wilson's most spectacular failure was The Civil Wars, also a collaboration with Philip Glass which was killed at the last minute by a nervous 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Arts Committee. A 12 hour production with an international cast and segments produced in several countries, it went too far over the heads of the conservative corporate American games leadership.
But Wilson is no stranger to extreme long form theatre. At 7 continous 24 hour days, his play KA MOUNTain and GUARDenia Terrace produced in 1972 for a festival sponsored by the Shah of Iran in Shiraz, Iran stretched the limits of his actors, and the definition of theatre.
Wilson continues to this day to create theatre in his own unique style, and takes on large projects without a blink. His latest project is staging Wagner's Ring Cycle. At a total length of about 15 hours, this marathon opera is perfectly suited to his talents.
At a sprightly 105 minutes, this film is an absolute success in capturing the essence of the man and his work.
It starts with an account of his difficult childhood in Waco, Texas. Born into a strict conservative Christian family, he never felt like he fit in. He was painfully shy and had a stuttering problem. His childhood best friend was a black boy–a relationship between two outcasts of this very conservative and segregated society.
Trying to please his father, Wilson enrolled in pre-law at the University of Texas. Things did not go as planned as Wilson hated his studies, discovered his love for dance, came out of the closet, and tried to commit suicide.
With nothing left for him in Texas he went to New York and fell in with the experimental theatre community. He discovered he had an empathy with mentally and physically challenged youth, and put his theatre knowledge to use as therapy. In return, they influenced his early work. He adopted a deaf black boy Raymond Andrews who inspired and starred in his play Deafman Glance. He befriended Christopher Knowles, an autistic son of a friend. Knowles' repetitious behaviour and language inspired the repetitive phrases and gestures in A Letter to Queen Victoria.
It is never explicitly stated in the film, but I wonder if Wilson himself is a high functioning autistic. His behaviour sometimes borders on the insensitive and tyrannical. He is driven to work at all times, and has an exhausting travel schedule. His barely sleeps. His loft space has almost no comforts, but his living room is a sea of unusual chairs he has collected.
Wilson's success has been mainly in Europe and not America. Probably his biggest success in America has been the 1976 opera Einstein on the Beach. This collaboration with Philip Glass who composed the music brought both of them to fame. It was an artistic success but not a financial one which left Wilson $150,000 in debt on production costs. The Metropolitan Opera was no great help as they graciously allowed them to rent the house on a Sunday with incurred triple time wages. Thirty years later–an entire generation–would it be even possible to stage this groundbreaking work outside New York or San Francisco?
Wilson's most spectacular failure was The Civil Wars, also a collaboration with Philip Glass which was killed at the last minute by a nervous 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Arts Committee. A 12 hour production with an international cast and segments produced in several countries, it went too far over the heads of the conservative corporate American games leadership.
But Wilson is no stranger to extreme long form theatre. At 7 continous 24 hour days, his play KA MOUNTain and GUARDenia Terrace produced in 1972 for a festival sponsored by the Shah of Iran in Shiraz, Iran stretched the limits of his actors, and the definition of theatre.
Wilson continues to this day to create theatre in his own unique style, and takes on large projects without a blink. His latest project is staging Wagner's Ring Cycle. At a total length of about 15 hours, this marathon opera is perfectly suited to his talents.
At a sprightly 105 minutes, this film is an absolute success in capturing the essence of the man and his work.
Friday, October 06, 2006
VIFF Review: Erni
This has to be the oddest promotional short film for Vienna tourism ever produced. A young Japanese family tours Vienna. Their tour guide is the fashion conscious chicken Erni who leads them all over Vienna, wearing a different outfit at each location.
It's a charming and light-hearted film with high production values. Vienna looks beautiful, and the classical music soundtrack sounds incredible on the Vancity Theatre's sound system.
It's a charming and light-hearted film with high production values. Vienna looks beautiful, and the classical music soundtrack sounds incredible on the Vancity Theatre's sound system.
VIFF Review: To Play and to Fight
"To play and to fight" is the motto of the Venezuelan National System of Children and Youth Orchestras. It was founded 30 years ago by Maestro José Antonio Abreu who believes in nothing less that the transformation of his nation through the power of music. He is the philosopher-king-conductor of Venezuela–a man of deep conviction, an eloquent speaker, and an inspiring teacher. For him, the orchestra is the metaphor for life: coming together as a community to create beauty, and opportunity for the next generation.
It's an inclusive program with a quarter of a million young people participating, including the blind, deaf, mentally, and physically challenged. The deaf kids participate in a miming choir–expressing the music through their facial expressions and gestures of their white gloved hands. Proudly wearing their distinctive track suits in the colors of the Venezuelan flag, the best and brightest play in the travelling orchestra which tours the great concert halls of the world.
All the participants are true believers in Abreu and his philosophy. His success has attracted the attention of prominent guest artists include Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, and Placido Domingo. Rattle is extensively interviewed, and is enthusiastic in his praise for the program.
While the content of the film is inspiring, the film is marred by its technical failings. The fuzzy quality of the video in general, and the even worse quality of some of its historic footage makes for eye squinting viewing. The soundtrack is AM radio quality with both mono sound and restricted frequency response detracting from the performances.
It's an inclusive program with a quarter of a million young people participating, including the blind, deaf, mentally, and physically challenged. The deaf kids participate in a miming choir–expressing the music through their facial expressions and gestures of their white gloved hands. Proudly wearing their distinctive track suits in the colors of the Venezuelan flag, the best and brightest play in the travelling orchestra which tours the great concert halls of the world.
All the participants are true believers in Abreu and his philosophy. His success has attracted the attention of prominent guest artists include Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, and Placido Domingo. Rattle is extensively interviewed, and is enthusiastic in his praise for the program.
While the content of the film is inspiring, the film is marred by its technical failings. The fuzzy quality of the video in general, and the even worse quality of some of its historic footage makes for eye squinting viewing. The soundtrack is AM radio quality with both mono sound and restricted frequency response detracting from the performances.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
VIFF Review: Two Sons of Francisco
This film is based on the true life story of Francisco Camargo and his family's rise from rags to riches. He is a poor farmer in the rural Brazilian state of Goiás struggling to make a living with his wife Helena and raising their seven children.
Francisco dreams of a better life for his children and knows it will not be through farming on land he doesn't own. He loves music and the tabletop transistor radio is always on. He encourages his two eldest sons Mirosmar and Emival to take up music. Without money for formal training Francisco devises some uniquely rural ways of training his sons to sing. How many singers start the day at sunrise with a raw egg? The boys learn to play accordion and guitar, showing enough talent to play the county fair, and other local events, but they cannot advance further without help.
Knowing this, Francisco uproots the family from the farm to the capital city of Goiânia. It's a struggle at first for the whole family–living in a leaky, rundown, shack of a house. The boys turn to busking at the bus station which gives them their first break. They meet Miranda, a slick and outgoing man who becomes their first agent. He has connections but is less than scrupulous.
It's a hard road to success with setbacks at every step. But the family builds on their successes which is alluded to visually as their house subtly improves as the movie progresses. The boys are young men now but a big hit eludes them. It is Francisco's ingenious act of payola which finally ignites the first hit single, and propels them to fame and fortune.
The film ends with an appearance by the real life family that inspired this movie. Now known as Zezé di Camargo and Luciano, the brothers perform in a packed stadium in São Paulo. And we accompany them on a visit to the farm where it all started.
At its heart this is a family film about the strength and resiliency of a family. They survive hardship and tragedy, and share in happiness and success.
Francisco dreams of a better life for his children and knows it will not be through farming on land he doesn't own. He loves music and the tabletop transistor radio is always on. He encourages his two eldest sons Mirosmar and Emival to take up music. Without money for formal training Francisco devises some uniquely rural ways of training his sons to sing. How many singers start the day at sunrise with a raw egg? The boys learn to play accordion and guitar, showing enough talent to play the county fair, and other local events, but they cannot advance further without help.
Knowing this, Francisco uproots the family from the farm to the capital city of Goiânia. It's a struggle at first for the whole family–living in a leaky, rundown, shack of a house. The boys turn to busking at the bus station which gives them their first break. They meet Miranda, a slick and outgoing man who becomes their first agent. He has connections but is less than scrupulous.
It's a hard road to success with setbacks at every step. But the family builds on their successes which is alluded to visually as their house subtly improves as the movie progresses. The boys are young men now but a big hit eludes them. It is Francisco's ingenious act of payola which finally ignites the first hit single, and propels them to fame and fortune.
The film ends with an appearance by the real life family that inspired this movie. Now known as Zezé di Camargo and Luciano, the brothers perform in a packed stadium in São Paulo. And we accompany them on a visit to the farm where it all started.
At its heart this is a family film about the strength and resiliency of a family. They survive hardship and tragedy, and share in happiness and success.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
One Night Stand: Steve Reich
Heritage Hall
October 3, 2006 7:00pm
A new music series called Music on Main debuts with a tribute concert to composer Steve Reich in celebration of his 70th birthday. This concert featured his most well known pieces as well as new material.
The concert started off with Come Out, his seminal experiment with tape loops. Using modern music technology instead, the piece was performed by a 15-inch MacBook Pro. Are you supposed to clap after a computer finishes playing?
Next was Piano Phase performed on two marimbas by Vern Griffiths and Lauri Lyster. The shifting phase of the musical lines on the marimbas generated beat frequencies of harp-like sounds in between the striking of the keys. An amazing effect from a beautiful and beautifully constructed piece.
What is the sound of four hands clapping? Clapping Music is a short but delightful piece which answers this question with two musicians, Lauri Lyster and Robin Reid. At times they sounded like more than four hands clapping, as the rhythms and textures were rich and mesmerizing. I guess there was a good reason Reich kept it a short piece as it looked quite tiring even for two seasoned percussionists.
The format of the evening was to have a 15 minute or so break every hour. It made for a long but very relaxed evening. Very civilized indeed to enjoy a chat and a libation with the musicians.
The next hour continued on with Different Trains performed by the Penderecki String Quartet with recorded elements. The piece strongly conveys trains in motion, and has a restless feel to it.
The penultimate hour brought eight cellos onto stage for the Canadian Premiere of Reich's newer work Cello Counterpoint. From eight cellos to eight bongos–four pairs of tuned bongos were brought onto stage for Drumming: Part One. The careful tuning paid off as the phase shifting pattern effect was conjured up with precise percussion.
The final part of the concert featured the avant-jazz Coat Cooke Trio performing improvisations on Reich's music. I noticed that not everyone stayed for the improv jazz portion of the evening as we were getting into the fourth hour. Nonetheless, they sounded great with lots of interesting patterns and textures. Clyde Reed played his double bass in a most unique way with the back handle of the bow tapping and plucking on the strings at the bridge.
Overall, an auspicious beginning to this new music series. I look forward to hearing more great music from Music on Main.
October 3, 2006 7:00pm
A new music series called Music on Main debuts with a tribute concert to composer Steve Reich in celebration of his 70th birthday. This concert featured his most well known pieces as well as new material.
The concert started off with Come Out, his seminal experiment with tape loops. Using modern music technology instead, the piece was performed by a 15-inch MacBook Pro. Are you supposed to clap after a computer finishes playing?
Next was Piano Phase performed on two marimbas by Vern Griffiths and Lauri Lyster. The shifting phase of the musical lines on the marimbas generated beat frequencies of harp-like sounds in between the striking of the keys. An amazing effect from a beautiful and beautifully constructed piece.
What is the sound of four hands clapping? Clapping Music is a short but delightful piece which answers this question with two musicians, Lauri Lyster and Robin Reid. At times they sounded like more than four hands clapping, as the rhythms and textures were rich and mesmerizing. I guess there was a good reason Reich kept it a short piece as it looked quite tiring even for two seasoned percussionists.
The format of the evening was to have a 15 minute or so break every hour. It made for a long but very relaxed evening. Very civilized indeed to enjoy a chat and a libation with the musicians.
The next hour continued on with Different Trains performed by the Penderecki String Quartet with recorded elements. The piece strongly conveys trains in motion, and has a restless feel to it.
The penultimate hour brought eight cellos onto stage for the Canadian Premiere of Reich's newer work Cello Counterpoint. From eight cellos to eight bongos–four pairs of tuned bongos were brought onto stage for Drumming: Part One. The careful tuning paid off as the phase shifting pattern effect was conjured up with precise percussion.
The final part of the concert featured the avant-jazz Coat Cooke Trio performing improvisations on Reich's music. I noticed that not everyone stayed for the improv jazz portion of the evening as we were getting into the fourth hour. Nonetheless, they sounded great with lots of interesting patterns and textures. Clyde Reed played his double bass in a most unique way with the back handle of the bow tapping and plucking on the strings at the bridge.
Overall, an auspicious beginning to this new music series. I look forward to hearing more great music from Music on Main.
VIFF Review: Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast-Food Grifters
This is the North American premiere of anime director Mamoru Oshii's highly satirical and subversive mock documentary. It's a huge departure from the more mainstream science fiction anime films like Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, and Urusei Yatsura which have made Oshii famous. Most people outside of Japan will probably be a bit mystified by the subject matter. It's a scholarly exposé of the post-war phenomenon of the fast-food grifters–individuals who make a living by scamming free meals out of the noodle shops and fast-food outlets of Japan.
The film was rendered in a stylish new 2-D 3-D process. It looks sort of like a computerized version of the cut-out animations Terry Gilliam pioneered in Monty Python's Flying Circus. The visual look suits the story of this motley collection of characters.
In post-war occupied Tokyo, Moongaze Ginji is the original grifter, beguiling the hapless noodle shop owner with his philosophizing over the landscape of egg, soba noodles, and broth in the bowl. Foxy Croquette O-Gin is the first female grifter, wielding her feminine charms for her favorite dish of Kisune Soba with a Croquette. Beefbowl Ushigoro bankrupts a restaurant chain with his gluttonous gang. Frankfurter Tatsu still obsesses over his failure at ******land (I'm not sure if it was part of the joke to bleep this out or if Oshii-san got a visit from Mickey's lawyers–don't mess with the mouse!).
So what significance is this subject matter especially to an audience that is not Japanese? My guess is that Oshii is commenting on the state of post-war Japanese society. These characters are outsiders surviving on the periphery of Japanese society. Japan recovered from the war and launched its economic miracle, but not everyone benefitted. Those forgotten, ignored, and left behind are represented here. This is an uniquely Japanese tale in a Swiftian vein.
The film was rendered in a stylish new 2-D 3-D process. It looks sort of like a computerized version of the cut-out animations Terry Gilliam pioneered in Monty Python's Flying Circus. The visual look suits the story of this motley collection of characters.
In post-war occupied Tokyo, Moongaze Ginji is the original grifter, beguiling the hapless noodle shop owner with his philosophizing over the landscape of egg, soba noodles, and broth in the bowl. Foxy Croquette O-Gin is the first female grifter, wielding her feminine charms for her favorite dish of Kisune Soba with a Croquette. Beefbowl Ushigoro bankrupts a restaurant chain with his gluttonous gang. Frankfurter Tatsu still obsesses over his failure at ******land (I'm not sure if it was part of the joke to bleep this out or if Oshii-san got a visit from Mickey's lawyers–don't mess with the mouse!).
So what significance is this subject matter especially to an audience that is not Japanese? My guess is that Oshii is commenting on the state of post-war Japanese society. These characters are outsiders surviving on the periphery of Japanese society. Japan recovered from the war and launched its economic miracle, but not everyone benefitted. Those forgotten, ignored, and left behind are represented here. This is an uniquely Japanese tale in a Swiftian vein.
VIFF Review: Opera Jawa
One of the things the film festival does is plunge you headlong into another culture. Opera Jawa offers up a beautiful, bewildering, and tragic story in operatic style with Indonesian sensibilities.
The story is inspired by the Hindu epic poem Ramayana in which prince Rama loses his wife Sita to the demon king Ravana. The story is hard to follow at times, but is essentially about potter Setyo and his wife Siti who are living the good life in rural Java. Unfortunately their relationship falters, leaving Siti open to seduction by butcher Ludiro who has always lusted after her. At the same time, the idyllic country life of the villagers is wrenched by civil unrest, and sectarian violence.
The dialog is sung throughout, accompanied by the gamelan and other traditional Indonesian instruments. The music creates an exotic, otherworldly, and at times uneasy atmosphere.
Visually the film presents beautiful, surreal, and sometimes disturbing imagery. There are various styles of dance including martial arts, and a fully clothed yet erotic mingling in bed. An impossibly long bolt of red fabric leads Siti from her home to Ludiro's rendezvous in the jungle. Lotus flower candles light the house of Ludiro in an eerily romantic setting. A clay drenched scene with Setyo and Siti recalls the pottery wheel scene in Ghost but with a totally different context and emotion. Full-sized human head shaped candles drip red wax onto white mannequin bodies like blood.
While not the most accessible film–some scenes and character actions are quite inexplicable without a knowledge of Indonesian culture–it is interesting for its music and imagery.
The story is inspired by the Hindu epic poem Ramayana in which prince Rama loses his wife Sita to the demon king Ravana. The story is hard to follow at times, but is essentially about potter Setyo and his wife Siti who are living the good life in rural Java. Unfortunately their relationship falters, leaving Siti open to seduction by butcher Ludiro who has always lusted after her. At the same time, the idyllic country life of the villagers is wrenched by civil unrest, and sectarian violence.
The dialog is sung throughout, accompanied by the gamelan and other traditional Indonesian instruments. The music creates an exotic, otherworldly, and at times uneasy atmosphere.
Visually the film presents beautiful, surreal, and sometimes disturbing imagery. There are various styles of dance including martial arts, and a fully clothed yet erotic mingling in bed. An impossibly long bolt of red fabric leads Siti from her home to Ludiro's rendezvous in the jungle. Lotus flower candles light the house of Ludiro in an eerily romantic setting. A clay drenched scene with Setyo and Siti recalls the pottery wheel scene in Ghost but with a totally different context and emotion. Full-sized human head shaped candles drip red wax onto white mannequin bodies like blood.
While not the most accessible film–some scenes and character actions are quite inexplicable without a knowledge of Indonesian culture–it is interesting for its music and imagery.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
VIFF Review: Norman McLaren Retrospective
What a delight it is to rediscover the artistic genius of Canadian animator Norman McLaren. His animations are pioneering classics of the genre which are still fresh and enjoyable today. This retrospective presents a judicious sample of his work.
Trouble with Inanimate Objects
In Opening Speech, McLaren attempts to give a speech on the occasion of the first annual Montréal Film Festival where he has trouble with an uncooperative microphone stand. In A Chairy Tale he has trouble trying to sit down on a chair with a mind of its own. The hilarious action is perfectly matched by Ravi Shankar's soundtrack. Both of these films could be live action versions of classic Warner Brothers cartoons.
Abstract Images and Music
Begone Dull Care is an explosion of lines and colour–a brilliant visualization of the music of a young and energetic Oscar Peterson Trio. Synchromy is a colorful experiment with early music synthesizers. The beeps, boops, and other sounds strongly remind me of the Atari 2600 game console. The moving groups of lines in Lines Horizontal generate interesting interference patterns, all to the music of Pete Seeger.
The Birds
McLaren seemed to have an affinity for whimsically animated birds. Hen Hop features a chicken–whole and in parts–dancing to a square dance song. Le Merle is a bird-like figure animated to a French-Canadian folk/children's song.
Award Winning Shorts
McLaren won an Oscar for his billiant anti-war film, Neighbours. Also notable for its soundtrack which sounds like early electronic music. Possibly tape loops or directly painting onto the film sound track.
McLaren received an Oscar nomination and won the BAFTA award for Pas de Deux. It's a beautiful ballet duo filmed in black and white with multiple exposures and stroboscopic effects. It reminds me of The Matrix's bullet time effects.
About McLaren
McLaren's Negatives is a brief tribute to, and interview with McLaren. In animated form, he explains some of his techniques, and reflects on his work. It is amazing to think that all of his work predated the computer age, and much of it involved painstakingly hand painting images onto each film frame.
If you miss this retrospective you don't have to wait until the next film festival to enjoy McLaren's work. A DVD box set of all his films is available from the National Film Board of Canada website.
Trouble with Inanimate Objects
In Opening Speech, McLaren attempts to give a speech on the occasion of the first annual Montréal Film Festival where he has trouble with an uncooperative microphone stand. In A Chairy Tale he has trouble trying to sit down on a chair with a mind of its own. The hilarious action is perfectly matched by Ravi Shankar's soundtrack. Both of these films could be live action versions of classic Warner Brothers cartoons.
Abstract Images and Music
Begone Dull Care is an explosion of lines and colour–a brilliant visualization of the music of a young and energetic Oscar Peterson Trio. Synchromy is a colorful experiment with early music synthesizers. The beeps, boops, and other sounds strongly remind me of the Atari 2600 game console. The moving groups of lines in Lines Horizontal generate interesting interference patterns, all to the music of Pete Seeger.
The Birds
McLaren seemed to have an affinity for whimsically animated birds. Hen Hop features a chicken–whole and in parts–dancing to a square dance song. Le Merle is a bird-like figure animated to a French-Canadian folk/children's song.
Award Winning Shorts
McLaren won an Oscar for his billiant anti-war film, Neighbours. Also notable for its soundtrack which sounds like early electronic music. Possibly tape loops or directly painting onto the film sound track.
McLaren received an Oscar nomination and won the BAFTA award for Pas de Deux. It's a beautiful ballet duo filmed in black and white with multiple exposures and stroboscopic effects. It reminds me of The Matrix's bullet time effects.
About McLaren
McLaren's Negatives is a brief tribute to, and interview with McLaren. In animated form, he explains some of his techniques, and reflects on his work. It is amazing to think that all of his work predated the computer age, and much of it involved painstakingly hand painting images onto each film frame.
If you miss this retrospective you don't have to wait until the next film festival to enjoy McLaren's work. A DVD box set of all his films is available from the National Film Board of Canada website.
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