The Cathedral

Cathedral, The (2003)

*** (out of 4)

Strange but effective animated short has an explorer going into a broken down cathedral and getting sent on a journey through it. This is a somewhat hard film to judge because on one hand some of the visuals are really amazing but on the other hand I couldn't help but feel left out of the actual "story" and in many ways it seemed like a deleted scene from a video game. Those who mainly wanting to see visuals are really going to love this thing because some of them will have your jaw on the floor. The highlight of the film for me was near the end when the explorer is near the end of his voyage and the sun begins to come out. How this lights everything up made for a very memorable sequence. The film contains no dialogue so everything we take away from the film comes from the visual stance and for the most part it keeps us entertained. I think a little story would have made the movie a tad bit better.

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.

The first time I ever saw The Cathedral, I was sitting in Film class in high school. It was the only movie all year that I didn't want to end. It held my attention, from the beginning to the end. In fact I didn't even notice that I didn't blink until my contacts blurred over. The computer animation is just stunning, the soundtrack is beautiful, and the story is brilliant; there can be so many different interpretations. Once I saw The Cathedral, I wanted to watch it again and again. If you get a chance to see this film definitely see it, see what you think it means. You'll definitely have fun trying to figure out the meaning of it all.

I agree with all the previous comments - excellent animation etc...-a masterpiece indeed. However I find the plot of the movie at least as fascinating as the visualization. It's about the power of existence and coming to an end - beautiful, magnificent, unavoidable and horrifying, about sacrifices that allow us to last. ....and thousand other interpretations. You may not agree with mine but what can be said without any doubts is that the plot IS NOT LIGHT!

Awesome experience! This piece is not about the storyline. I feel that it's an artistic look-n-feel "tidbit" that was derived from the storyline. I found the official, authorized website dedicated to Jacek Dukaj writings, but cannot post the URL here without breaking policy. I believe that the character in this short is waiting for someone... who never shows up. He is already aware of some of the technology involved in the creation of the Cathedral, but not fully aware of it's programming details... and that's what leads to the conclusion of this piece. The Cathedral itself is made of "crysthorn" - some sort of algorithm-based organic rock(?) and houses a tomb and an alter! It resides on an asteroid which allowed the crysthorn to reach great heights due to decreased gravity. I wanted to post some quotes from the "teaser" I found on the website dedicated to Jacek Dukaj writings, but I will refrain in fear of violating policy. The character mentions a gazebo that he "grew" at his parent's house when he was 13. This gazebo was "grown" from a package of similar crysthorn seeds. Hope this was helpful to you, and piqued your curiosity even more. Have fun! Excellent CG experience! One discrepancy I must mention: In all scenes showing sky... the skies are fairly clear, except when the character approaches the massive building and looks up. The sky is completely overcast! A very dramatic effect, but ruins the continuity.