The Cathedral

On a far distant planet stands a immense cathedral, seemingly derelict and lifeless. A solitary traveler stands before the crumbling columns, silently watching and waiting. The film leaves countless questions unanswered, its dialogue-free script allowing for the visuals and music to tell the story, and for the viewer to fill in the blanks. Where is this beautiful planet? Who is this lone traveler? Why has he made this pilgrimage to such a remote cathedral? Indeed, who actually built this cathedral, and for how long has it stood here?

Tomek Baginski's animated short film, 'Katedra / The Cathedral,' is a fascinating and visually-stunning journey into the unknown, and a philosophical exploration of the nature of religion. It is based upon Jacek Dukaj's short story of the same name, and was created using 3ds Max, a full-featured 3D graphics application developed by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. The CGI visuals, which allegedly took three years to produce, are nothing short of perfect, every frame as beautiful as the last. With no dialogue to speak of, 'Katedra' also relies heavily on its choice of music, and the steadily-building electronic track used during the film's climax is wonderfully rousing.

The conclusion itself is worthy of some discussion, though I'll stop short of giving away what actually happens. What could this ending actually be implying? That a religion is comprised solely of its believers? Could the pilgrim's faith have allowed him to become a part of something wonderful and glorious? This, of course, is without considering whether or not the traveler knew what was about to happen when the sun made its dazzling appearance. Whatever your interpretation, there's no denying that this film is simply a thing of beauty.

Although perhaps a little light on story, Cathedral is a near-perfect display of computer-generated filmmaking. Rich in lighting effects, computer-designed architecture, and visual invention, the film is just great to watch. As mentioned earlier, the story is a little weak, as the filmmakers chose to tell their story with visuals rather than dialogue. However, because of the fantastic visuals and inventive storytelling techniques, the filmmakers' messages are effectively conveyed. While I don't think this could be the best short film of the year, it is certainly one of the best to look at.

After seeing THE CATHEDRAL (KATEDRA), I looked on IMDb for reviews of this Oscar-nominated short and the first one dramatically proclaimed it was "robbed at the Oscars"--implying the winner should not have won. So, that encouraged me to see out the winner (with the bizarre and less than exciting title "THE CHUBBCHUBBS") and I'm convinced that the AMPAS people (the organization giving out the Oscars) did NOT screw up by not giving the award to THE CATHEDRAL. While THE CATHEDRAL was amazing to watch from a visual perspective, it really looked much more like a cut scene from a video game than an actual short film. Whereas the CHUBBCHUBBS was very funny and a complete narrative--with excellent animation, writing, voice acting, etc. Plus, when I dug further, I watched ALL the nominees and found that DAS RAD (another nominee that failed to win) was also much better than THE CATHEDRAL. In fact, for originality, DAS RAD definitely was supreme in this category.

Still, my advice is see them all--and perhaps the other Oscar nominees from the 2003 Oscars. They're lovely little short films--though ATAMA-YAMA might make your brain hurt since it's so very weird.

maybe, its profound simplicity is the basic motif for the fascination . than, the music. not the last, CGI. not the last because, in many cases, technology is the first, against the story. in this case, it is the clothes of a seductive - bitter story about the price of knowledge, about the force of place who transforms the visitor in part of it. all is great and touching and impressive in this short film. the tension and the memories about old fairy tales, the grace and the revelation. so, a gem.

Anyone who's seen the new Star Wars movies, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, The Matrix Reloaded and other heavy-CGI films can attest that the animation rarely conveys scope or true majesty: when you can tell something is fake, it's hard to let it take your breath away. However, The Cathedral is truly the first CGI I've seen that's left me in awe. The plot is elegantly simple, in fact, everything about this movie is elegant, beautiful and haunting. This is what CGI should be. Either this or Das Rad deserved to win the Oscar for best Animated Short.