bob the moo

Inside a fight training program outside of the matrix, two warriors continue their games. When one reveals that he has struck a deal with the agents to return the matrix, he offers his female partner to come with him. When she refuses he has no choice but to begin a fight that only one of them will survive.

Part of the series of animations making up the Matrix companion piece `The Animatrix', I saw this as a stand alone piece recently at a festival of shorts and animations. The film gripped me immediately with it's visuals - very stylish, very manga in it's style. The plot was slick as well as being involving - the two protanginists talk until the point where it is obvious that there is only one way to resolve it. It is very enjoyable right until the epilogue that occurs outside of the training programme - that is poor and takes away from the short.

The film may have more in the way of style than substance but it does well enough to support the visuals with a basic premise that is interesting. It is flawed of course, but I have found that many of those who criticise the shorts that make up the Animatrix have not seen a great deal of short films or animations. With only a few minutes to do it's job, this short does well despite a rather bad conclusion that just spoilt it a bit for me.

Writer, director, and narrator Duncan Cowles recently lost his grandfather, and in processing his loss he decided to film insects in his garden. The footage of this is engagingly simple and detailed, but it is the narration that makes it such a strong film. Cowles records his narration in a way that comes over incredibly genuine and heartfelt. It is of course carefully crafted and produced, but the simple footage contrasts so well with the meditative thoughts of the narrator trying to cope with the bigger picture of life. With a wry Scots' view, the narration is amusing but engaging in how it deconstructs things but yet is very down to earth and normal (even munching biscuits while musing) and it makes for a strong film. The footage slips into the background while remain relevant, leaving a reflective Scottish man to easily do enough to capture the viewer.

An old owl lives alone, having dedicated her life to pure religious living for her God. As she nears the end of her life she reflects on these decisions with a certain amount of regret that they appear to have led her to live her life alone.

Although there is a lot to say about the plot of this short film, it is hard to start there when the animation is so impressive. Delivered in stop-motion, the film is so natural looking in terms of its movement, its light, and its attention to detail, that at times I almost forgot it was stop-motion because the word "stop" seemed in conflict with the fluidity I was seeing. I'm a sucker for this type of animation anyway, but it is endlessly impressive when done really well - and this is done hugely well. As I've often felt with great stop-motions, I was impressed by how the animation is only the delivery - the writing and characters are very well done too (if I ever managed to make a stop-motion animation, you can be assured it would not even be as good as Ben's in Parks & Recreation).

Here the plot is both simple and complex; on one hand it is as simple as a repressed spinster looking to release a life of pent up passion, but at the same time it is a touch more than that because it brings in the detail of the religion, the sadness of some aspects, the humour of others, and it makes for a complete picture with shading and detail - again, very similar to what the animation itself does. The manner of the telling makes it easy to follow the character on her journey, even if at times it can be a bit too on the beak, and then at others it is a flight of fancy very open to interpretation. Both work though, within the wider span of the film.

Very impressive short film, in a range of ways.