Intro:
The House of Small Cubes is a Japanese short film, and one of the best animated films to come out of Japan, up there with Spirited Away. And frankly, one of my favorite short films of all time. And pun intended, a sunken gem of the Japanese film industry.
The Story:
Told entirely through visuals, this film tells the story of a lonely old man, who to save his house, builds it so it's much higher, and rises above the flood waters and shifting tides. And when he looses his smoking pipe, he goes to retrieve, and in the process, relives his past life.
Clearly dealing with themes of loneliness and life, this film does it with such amazingly written storytelling, and moments that got me very close to bringing a tear to my eye. Making it the movie that came closest to making me cry. Emotionally impactful and dealing in mature themes, this film is a master at good storytelling, a film that inspires me in this respect.
The Characters:
As I mentioned before, the film focuses around one character. And in this film, he deals with having to relive his past of loosing people in his life, and that by building his house so it's taller, he's leaving behind their memories. However, by the end of the reminded of how it's important to remember them. In what is one my favorite endings to any film. To cut this section short, I love the arc that are nameless main character goes through.
The Animation:
Even though the film technically qualifies as anime, the animation style could not be more different from other anime. Having a sort more abstract drawing style to it, the film's animation is unlike anything I've ever seen. And it's simply beautiful to look at. And I would recommend it to people of all tastes because of this. I would recommend it to people who anime, people who hate anime, people who like animation as a whole, or just people who like film, or good stories.
Conclusion:
This film is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. It's impacts the audience emotionally, it deals with great themes, the writing is stellar. And it's just worth a watch. So please, give it a watch. And if my review convinced you to look for this gem, maybe the 8.3 rating will. Considering around 9,000 people in total, gave the movie an 8.3, I'm clearly not alone in my opinion.
