Showing posts with label Short Films. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Short Films. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Adam Elliot: "Brother"

Hi folks! Hope your 2009 is going well so far where you are ... here it remains cold and somewhat dreary, only compounded by a malingering cold and overheated work schedule, thus my infrequent posting (again) of late. Honestly, with all the analysis and report writing I've had to do before and since the "holidays," I've been more than a bit tapped out in the word department. So, unless anyone objects, I'm going to continue to feature a few short films by the very talented Australian, Adam Elliot, creator of Harvie Krumpet most recently posted here. I do hope some of you have taken a look and enjoyed what you have seen....

Tonight's little film, Brother, is from 1999 and recounts the obviously eccentric relationship between young "Adam" and his older brother. If you're familiar with his more recent work, you'll certainly notice there's a definite stylistic evolution that has occurred since the earlier films. Though he always works (as far as I know) in the claymation medium, he has definitely become much more polished over the ensuing years ... so take a look at this odd little film!

And finally, it's no surprise that my favorite claymation characters are the wonderfully realized Wallace and Gromit ... and I can never recommend them enthusiastically enough. Though Wallace is overly (and eccentrically) chatty, I've always loved Gromit for her/his ability to convey a wonderfully rich array of ideas and emotions with nary a blink or wrinkling of an eyebrow. If you've never seen any of the Wallace and Gromit films or short subjects, you're missing some real treats, just chock full of humor of that oh so British kind, but lacking the sometimes insufferable "forced wit" that characterizes some attempts. This little film is for those who are already tired of winter (me among them), and is one of the Cracking Contraptions series of short films ... it's called The Snowmanatron. Enjoy!!

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Saturday Cinema: Harvie Krumpet

I mentioned this short film by Adam Elliot recently in my post about Christmas Eve, and was delighted to find that the entire film is now posted on YouTube, so I just had to share with my readers here. Adam Elliot is a remarkable animator and short film maker, perhaps one of Australia's best, given that this wonderful effort earned him the 2004 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. I've seen others he's done on the Sundance Channel, but this is the one I keep coming back to and loving every time I see it. It's only about 20 minutes long, but packs a lot of punch into it, chronicling the life of Harvie Krumpet from his humble beginnings in Poland (pre-WWII) to his later (and final) years in Australia.

This is a short film of remarkable humanity and compassion for its subject ... although there are moments of truly hilarious circumstances, the overall trajectory of his life is curiously tragicomic, yet ultimately life reaffirming. I think that all of us can see someone we have known (or will know) in this film and it may help us to put things into proper perspective at some point. But until such moments, just enjoy Harvie Krumpet for what it is ... it's a great little film and just don't answer the iron when it rings!