#iris ngoumtcheu

[inapat17]

Animation shows: The art of drawing society (4/4)

Grandpa Walrus

Cartoons are a colorful medium that creators like to use to depict their vision of our modern world. Therefore this series of articles will be dedicated to animated TV, internet shows and movies of this last year which humorously describes our contemporary society. Today a short film that explores different ways of grieving. Children find death to be a brutal and incomprehensible experience. “Grandpa Walrus” explores the imagination of children who struggle to cope with a tragic event: the death of their grandfather.

Grandpa Walrus or Pépé le morse is an animated short film directed by Lucrèce Andreae which was awarded best animated short at the 2018 César awards. The movie starts with a panorama of the cold and grey beach. Twelve-years-old Lucas, our narrator, explains the expression “grandpa walrus”: “One of my friends told me that in Russia, there are some kind of huge guys who spend their lives tanning, even when it’s cold. They are called walruses! I think that Grandpa was a walrus. And now he is dead”. Olivia who is the mother, Granny, the twins Jade and Mélissa, and Lucas who is carrying his baby brother Marcus are out in the middle of October on a cold and windy beach to pay a last tribute to their grandpa. The atmosphere is not at all ceremonious. The twins are talking about boys, the grandmother falls on the ground in devotion every two steps and Olivia is just trying to get through this nonsense. Finally arriving on the beach the family is faced with the horrifying vision of tons of cigarette butts spread on the sand forming the silhouette of the grandfather’s body. Then each of the characters split upon the immense beach mourning their grandfather in different ways. The young character’s imaginations come to life. Lucas is facing a frightful vision of a humanoid walrus smoking a cigarette. The twins live a near death experience when they get attacked by plants and little Marius is running away in the oceans.

It’s a deeply poetic animated film which explores dark themes such as death and mourning through visions that are both beautiful and nightmarish. Nevertheless, the characters remain very realistic. They shout, insult each other and argue. Although they are experiencing the same tragic event, they don’t understand each other. While Lucas and the grandma seem to have the same admiration for the patriarch, Olivia remains  resentful toward a man who for her was selfish and who died a pathetic death just like he lived a pathetic life.

On this large beach, the characters are reduced to their littleness. Lucrèce Andreae's film is a story that is both personal and universal. For the film, she drew inspiration from her personal life. In an interview, she said that the idea for her film came from a friend that lives in Saint Petersburg. She told her the story of the “walruses”: men who spent their lives sunbathing whether it’s winter or summer. For the beach, she was inspired by the Atlantic coast where she spent time with her parents. Finally, the small eclectic group was more or less a depiction of her family.

Death is a universal subject. Lucrèce Andreae also used international references to make this poetic animated short film. She chose to set the movie on a beach in reference to Shoji Ueda’s photos. The beach setting is something universal. For Lucrèce Andreae Shoji’s photos are both poetic and absurd.  These two adjectives can also be used to qualify her film. The vulgar and grotesque characters of Italian cinema were a source of inspiration for the characters of this animated short film. Moreover, the fantastic visions in a realistic setting are a clear reference to Hayao Myasaki's Japanese animated movies.

© Shoji Ueda

Spirited away, Hayao Myazaki, 2001

In the film statement of intent, the director writes her motivation for making this film. These words can also serve as a conclusion to this series of articles: “As Charlie Chaplin once said: “ Life is a tragedy in close up, but it is a comedy in wide shot ” and I am convinced that you just need a little distance from things so you can laugh at anything”. 

In this series of articles I wanted to show that cartoons are mediums through which we can talk about anything. If I haven't convinced the readers, I hope at least you've been able to discover some great animated movies or TV shows.

[inapat17]

Animation shows: The art of drawing society (3/4)

Flee

Cartoons are a colorful medium that creators like to use to depict their vision of our modern world. Therefore, this series of articles will be dedicated to animated TV, internet shows and movies of this last year which humorously describes our contemporary society. The animated documentary “Flee” will be our guide for today as we examine the art of cartooning real-life events.

Animation and cartooning can be used in all cinema genres, even the most realistic ones. Flee is an animated documentary directed by Jona Poher-Rasmussen. It was first screened in 2021 during the Sundance Festival. Then, the film reached a much larger audience when it was broadcast on Arte in August 2022. It took the public one and a half hours to discover Amin’s tragic life story, it took 20 years for Jonas Poher Rasmussen to get his friend to tell the painful truth about his past. Until now Amin was telling the story that the smuggler taught him for fear of losing his refugee status. He told his best friend Jonas and his partner Kasper that his entire family had died, and that he had made the journey from Afghanistan to Denmark all by himself. In reality, his family is still alive and scattered across Europe, but Amin's story is not any less tragic.

Amin, lying on a colorful carpet, remembers his carefree childhood in Kabul. He was dancing in the street with his walkman on the hit song “Take on me” by the band A-ha. The young boy already has his first crush: the very popular Jean-Claude Van Damme. These pleasant memories are followed by one of his dad’s arrests by mujahedin. War is about to break out and Amin's brother hides to escape conscription. The family first fled to Russia. Illegal immigrants are being roughed up by the police. Amin’s sisters are the first to escape the situation, they cross Europe in horrible conditions nearly suffocating alongside other immigrants in a container ship. Although they survived, they were left scarred for life. Amin, his brother and mother leave on a miniscule boat navigating on the Baltic Sea. After nearly drowning, they come across a cruise ship. Whereas the tourist takes pictures of the tragic spectacle, the ship crew tells them that the Estonian police are on their way to send them back to Russia. Due to the unsustainable situation in Moscow, the family decides to send Amin to Sweden alone. The smuggler, or human trafficker as Amin prefers to call them, sends Amin to Denmark instead of Sweden. Amin lies to the Danish authorities to gain refugee status and claims to be the sole survivor of his family. It was in high school that he met Jonas, the director of the movie. Amin made a lot of sacrifices in order to get a good job and support his family, now that he is on the verge of marrying his boyfriend Kasper he tells us his story.

The documentary mixes animated sequences with archive footage. Animation serves first and foremost to preserve the characters. Indeed, Amin confides to his friends his most intimate story, he recounts his first loves, his fears, and the distrust he has developed towards others who cannot fully understand how his experiences have shaped him. Animation allows the man to remain anonymous. Although his story is very personal, the writing of the film and dialogues, as well as the animation make the story almost universal as the jury of the 2021 Sundance Festival said :“This film blends the personal and the universal. It's a remarkable blend of genres that manages to raise awareness of a global issue while following an intimate narrative.”

Animation is also a way of showing personal memories in the absence of real images. Historical events are illustrated by real archival footage. The memories of Amin's daily life are portrayed in classic, colorful animation. The memories that are too hard and cruel are drawn in charcoal with blurred lines and a shaky animation. Thanks to this combination, the audience can fully immerse themselves in these memories. They are heartbreaking but conveyed by Amin with great tenderness. 

The film tells the story of a man who has gone through hell to build a stable life. It's also the story of a young man experiencing his first love stories. And it's the story of a long friendship between Amin and Jonas. They have a beautiful trusting relationship that allows them to move forward in their personal and professional lives. Since the Taliban invasion in 2021, the rights of men and women in Afghanistan have crumbled. This film, resounding at the time, has lost none of its splendor. It allows the public to have a better understanding of what people fleeing from conflicts have to go through in order to be accepted and live a happy life. 

[inapat17]

Animation shows: The art of drawing society (2/4)

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Cartoons are a colorful medium that creators like to use to depict their vision of our modern world. Therefore this series of articles will be dedicated to animated TV, internet shows and movies of this last year that describe with humor and ruthlessness of our contemporary society. Today: a dreamlike film that takes place in the aftermath of a real tragedy: “Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman”

After writing about how our relationship to others and our behavior can be influenced by an imminent disaster in Carol and The end of the world, we will stay in the same type of analysis with Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. The story takes place shortly after the 2011 earthquake in Japan and the explosion of the nuclear power plant Fukushima. Komura is bewildered as he observes his wife being taken over by the media, which counts the number of tragic deaths daily. One day, Komura came back from his work at the bank only to find his apartment empty. Kyoko, his wife, only left a note on the floor: “Living with you was like living with a chunk of air”. Kamura decides to take a leave from his work and embarks on a journey to Hokkaido. He carries with him a mysterious box. At the same time, we also follow the story of the “poor Mister Katagiri”. A 40 year old bald and tired man. He works tirelessly without receiving any recognition from his boss and co-workers. While working on a particularly difficult matter, he receives a visit from a giant humanoid frog named Frog. The creature convinces him to help him fight Worm, a giant earthworm that is devouring the bowels of the earth. The danger is imminent since Worm is about to create a massive earthquake in Tokyo. In return, Frog offers to help Katagiri in his work.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman came out in March of 2023 and it is the first feature film directed by Pierre Földes. Experts in cinematographic animation may have recognized the name of Földes from the famous film director Peter Földes. He was a pioneer in computer animation. Pierre Földes is none other than his son. While he has produced some short animated films, his primary occupation is song composition for cinema and television.

Pierre Földes has conquered the public and the critiques with this first featured film. The movie is well-balanced, with complex and enigmatic French dialogue set in a soft Japanese-like universe. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is indeed a movie adaptation of six short novels written by none-other than one of the most published Japanese authors: Haruki Murakami. Murakami’s novels are characterized by magical realism. In his narratives, the character is allowed to experience truly magical intervention in their monotonous daily life. The narrative structures of Murakami's short stories intertwine in Pierre Földes' film, creating a dreamlike aspect due to the crumbling story without beginnings or end. 

Poetry is also present thanks to an original animation that blends 3D animations of the characters' faces with 2D pastel backgrounds. The character's movements have been captured in live action which gives an impression of realism. There are also a lot of transparency effects. These two types of animation seem to create two very different universes: a real one that reflects the stiffness of life and the other one which is the realm of dreams. 

Pierre Földes gives a more realistic interpretation of Murakami's novel. Indeed, the film deals with many social issues. First, it is a fascinating analysis of the different reactions one can have in the face of a disaster. Kyoko, who suffers from depression, finds herself trapped. The terrible news of the earthquake is feeding her pre-existing anxiety. Alone in the dark, her face is only lit by the TV screen and her mind is filled with the victim count. It ends up getting the better of her. She feels so entrapped, she can’t breathe and eventually she leaves. Komora doesn’t understand his wife’s distress, not that the catastrophe is irrelevant to him, he is just more detached. The real tragedy for him is the departure of his wife. At last, Katagiri seems to experience the panic, fear, and paranoia that can arise after a disaster. He tries to navigate through life as he did before the earthquake and cannot stop imagining that a new catastrophe can occur at any moment.

This movie also makes a general assessment of our behavior of how we treat our planet. Worm is a representation of how nature will fight back against our irresponsible actions and of the terrible consequences of our thoughtlessness. The destruction can only be stopped by a more than ordinary person (Katagiri). 

This movie examines many other themes. Komura and Katagiri illustrate how the pressure of hierarchy can depersonalize employees. As Komura experienced the romantic adventure in Hokkaido, we can see an analysis of our sexual behavior and our relationship to our body that deteriorates with age.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is a poetic movie about us, how we cope with tragedy and loneliness. Far from being a nightmare this movie tries to cure our sorrow with dreamlike settings and endearing characters. 

Iris Ngoumtcheu

[inapat17]

Animation shows: The art of drawing society (1/4)

Carol & the End of the World

Cartoons are a colorful medium that creators like to use to depict their vision of our modern world. Therefore this series of articles will be dedicated to animated TV, internet shows and movies of this last year that describe with humor and ruthlessness our contemporary society. Today: a bitter-sweat animated TV show that fits perfectly with the spirit of recent times between simplicity and anxiety about the world: “Carol & the End of the World”

This series of articles literally begin by the end. Carol & the End of the World is a 10-episodes animated TV show directed by Dan Guterman to whom we owe the writing of certain episodes of Rick and Morty and produced by Donick Cary  who’s name can be found in The Simpsons credits. The series has been available on Netflix since mid-December. The scenario of “Carole & The End of the world” is simple : In seven months a gigantic green planet  is going to collide with Earth, whipping everyone and everything out of existence. While everyone decided to realize their craziest dreams and yield to their wildest urges Carol doesn’t know what to do for her final moments. As she was wandering in the deserted city Carol runs into “The Distraction” it is an accounting office which is mysteriously still running - she starts working there as an administrative asset. While Carol enjoys the routine here relatives start to worry seeing her not going on some wild adventure, so Carol makes them believe that she is surfing. In reality she takes the bus, works, and spends her evenings at Apple Bee’s with her coworkers. Carol and her relatives each embody an existential reflection on our relationship with our family,  our work and our day to day life. All this in a cartoon whose green reflections recall the threat of the end of the world.

The series is endowed with a certain nostalgia and a sincere truth that can move the public without him even knowing why. Sometimes very dark the cartoon shows explore the specters of depression and loneliness with simplicity without ever being too much. Carol & The End of the World deeps into unusual tones for a cartoon show such as the pathetic and the tragic. This show is often compared to Bojack Horseman, a cartoon following a washed-out actor who suffers from an existential lack that leads to self-destructive behaviors. This trend of more tragic writing in animated shows is the subject of study of the doctor in psychology Cynthia Vinney. For her cartoon shows are “a place where people can see the reflection of their own problems without very living them”. The distance between our tragic life and its reflection in the show is imposed by the drawings but also by an absurd frame and a constant return to humor. We can find those features in Carol & The End of the World. Lulled by the voice of Martha Kelly, the original voice of Carol Kohl we live small adventures, small drama with the backdrop of a giant threatening green plant, a constant reminder of our finitude.

Dan Guterman says it himself : “Carol & The End Of the World” is a love letter to routine [...] An animated and existential comedy about the daily rituals that make up the gaps that make up a life.” A meditative series that explores with brilliant simplicity the human psyche at the dawn of the end of the world available on Netflix.