Les temps morts

Created by the director-animator duo that gave us "Fantastic Planet" eight years later, "Dead Times" is a really depressing look at mankind's many shortcomings. Like "Fantastic Planet", he animation is surreal and stylistic and the message is fairly obvious and preachy, but it is still a powerful message nonetheless and it is told in an extraordinarily powerful way. There are images in this film that are not only stunningly crafted, but also absolutely haunting, not to mention brilliant, captivating, and uniquely beautiful in their own, off putting way.

There isn't MUCH actual animation, however, it is mostly a series of still drawings interspliced with archive footage of man's cruelty with a few sequences that actually feature the aforementioned drawings. The film is narrated by a cold, sometimes sarcastic man whose message is simple: man is a species dominated by violence and cruelty. A dark message, but one that will likely continue to ring true until the end of time (sorry for the lack of optimism, there is love in the world too, don't worry too much).