Vremena goda

Ivan Ivanov-Vano and Yuriy Norshteyn's 'Seasons' is a delicate stroll through the Russian wilderness at different times of the year. Each season has its own unique beauty to offer us: in autumn, falling deciduous leaves spiral majestically towards the ground; in winter, a bitter snowfall gives way to a settling of millions of intricate, soft, white snowflakes; in spring, an outburst of fresh growth provides the landscape with a flourish of colour.

This wordless nine-minute stop-motion animated short was written precisely for Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's well-known work, 'The Seasons' (more specifically, I do believe, his piece entitled 'October: Autumn Song'), and the music certainly complements the images, calming us with its soft and delicate tones. The animation itself is intricately crafted, and it is so surprise to discover that co-director Yuriy Norshteyn would go on to direct what I consider to be the single most stunning piece of animation of all time, 'Skazka skazok / Tale of Tales (1979).'

The backgrounds and landscapes are decidedly breathtaking; though the two white horses and their human counterparts (our main protagonists) are not entirely convincing at times, I thought that this added a certain classical charm to the overall tone of the film.