78 Tours

This animated short is a fine example of Georges Schwizgebel's distinctive style: painterly, fluid, and highly dynamic, often blurring the line between fine art and animation. The visuals are rich, resembling oil paintings, while the film unfolds through endless metamorphosis, one image flowing seamlessly into the next. The movement feels continuous and dreamlike, as if gliding through a living canvas. Music is also central here, with the accordion playing an important role. As for the story-there isn't really a clear one. Instead, the piece works more as a fusion of art and animation, meant to be experienced like fine art rather than traditional narrative cartoon.

This is the second film by Georges Schwizgebel that I have seen this weekend. The first was "La Course à l'abîme" (1992) and I scored it a 10 because it was an absolute artistic triumph--like a great work of art come to life. Here with "78 Tours" (1985), there is a similar idea though it lacks the complexity of the later film--probably because by then Schwizgebel had further perfected his craft. Now this is NOT to say that "78 Tours" is a bad film--it's just a bit shorter and less amazing to watch--though it, too, is really amazing and lovely to watch.

Both films are unique because they are animated shorts that appear to have been done from paintings! It's as if paintings come to life and move fluidly to the music and it must have taken a huge amount of time to complete. In fact, of all the things I thought of as I watched, I remember clearly thinking "how did they do that??". A fascinating film that is almost like stepping inside a painting.