User Reviews

. . . so-called "Canadians" are akin to legendary or mythical creatures, not unlike Bigfoot, Sasquatch or the Abominable Snowman, aka Yeti. It's safe to say that for every ONE Canadian--perhaps a visiting Blue Jay or Maple Leaf--a Dallas or Houston resident has seen, he or she has glimpsed 10,000 Mexicans. Now, when it comes to plugs for our tourist industry, our Single Star State governor is very careful to follow the Truth-in-Advertising Rule Book. That's why ALL of our "Come Hither" spots remind visitors to pack as least a couple AR 15's or AK 47's so that they can Stand Their Ground when necessary. Strangely, this film from the Canadian Tourist Agency depicts their Far North Icebox as a backwater stuck in a Stone Age rut of vicious hand-to-hand combat, where no one is packing heat. Therefore, they deserve a relatively high mark for warning normal people such as Americans to STAY AWAY from the Frigid Fiends of French-English Cat-Dog Canada, and contribute some of the travel dollars saved to support BANGS: Broke Americans Need Gun Stamps.

In January 2007 I went to London expressly to attend part of a two-month long Luis Bunuel retrospective held at the National Film Theatre where I caught up with all but one of the remainder of his films. During that same period, a concurrent season of movies featuring Humphrey Bogart (on the 50th anniversary of his death) and Lauren Bacall and another one dedicated to Canadian animator Norman McLaren were also held. Although I am a fan of Animation in general, I was a bit wary of McLaren's work falling in the abstract branch of it but had always been interested in checking it out regardless since the late British film critic Leslie Halliwell deemed his best-known piece BEGONE DULL CARE (1949) worthy of his full **** rating. While the latter was indeed one of several shorts I managed to catch during that one particular evening, I cannot say I was sufficiently impressed to follow it up on my own time, as it were. Still, learning that 3 more films of his were nominated for the Best Short Subject Academy Award, I decided it was high time to reacquaint myself with McLaren's oeuvre given my ongoing Oscar marathon.

The 8-minute short under review is the only one of the three to emerge victorious and deservedly so; bafflingly, this won in the Best Documentary Short category while also being nominated for Best Short Subject. The simple plot deals with two neighbors who spend a lazy afternoon basking in the sun and reclining on a chair reading newspapers in front of their respective house but, tellingly, the headlines of one newspaper is completely belied by the other's. Suddenly a flower spurts out from a seed sown right beneath their feet and, after their initial mutual admiration for it, each one lets greed get the better of him and both start claiming it as their own private property. This sets off a battle of wills that soon turns increasingly physical, irrationally violent and ultimately fatal for all three parties; the scene where one erects a barricade between the two houses enclosing the flower on his side of the fence while the other relocates the latter to his advantage or having the flower use its petals to, as it were, take cover from its battling masters adds a nice touch of Surrealism.

However, the film's real coup comes at the end when, having trampled on the flower during their struggle, both men are overtaken by a feverish bloodlust that sees them enter each other's home and murder the occupants (a wife and a baby in both cases) through vicious kicking or throwing about! By this time, the violent men have adopted Indian warpaint on their faces and, when they eventually expire, the once-important white fence is transformed into crosses on each respective grave that have been dug where the houses used to stand. With time, more flowers bloom both on the graves themselves and on the earth surrounding them. The end titles, then, is an animated collage of the phrase "Love Thy Neighbor" in various languages. Although the film was originally issued sporting a monotone electronic score by McLaren himself (also available on "You Tube"), I elected to watch it accompanied by a score (recorded in 2010) by an obscure outfit named Versa that very effectively counterpoints the on screen action.

norman mclaren's neighbours is a masterpiece of animation- it entertains, educates, and satirizes, all at once.

the plot of the film is simple, and predictable: two neighbours are fighting over a flower, which seems to fall directly between their two properties. naturally, the two fight over the flower until both they and the flower are destroyed.

however, underneath that simple plot, there lies a strong anti-war message. it points out that war does not allow for winners, only losers; and it reminds us that we've been known to forget why, exactly, we're fighting each other, killing each other, as well as each other's families.

the battle is shown with live-action/stop-go animation- which allows the effects of the flower on the two men to be exagarrated easily. this suits the film well, giving a serious topic a little light-heartedness.

an interesting side-note- the soundtrack was not recorded, but rather hand-painted (by mclaren himself) onto the soundtrack. this gives the soundtrack a boxy, nintendo-like quality.

in my mind, this film could sit easily with modern anti-war classics; never too preachy, never too simple.

truly enjoyable.

This short, which combines live-action with stop-motion animation, was nominated for two Oscars and won for Best Documentary Short. The events depicted become more ironic as they unfold and to describe any of the details to any great degree would be unfair to the short and to future viewers. Totally recommended.

This film is amazing. Truly amazing.

The knack for animation seems to be one of Canada's greatest gifts, so I guess that would make Norm McLaren the most generous man at the party. This piece is visually stunning; watching the characters cascade across the screen with the help of stop-motion techniques is a thing of beauty. The awkward, electronique-esque soundtrack conjures up, and speaks for, every single emotion that McLaren is trying to get across visually. In eight minutes, McLaren develops the two male characters, and their emotions, better than a feature length Hollywood production could in two hours. Could he have made it longer? Sure...but he said all he needed to say in the few minutes he worked with...namely, "Love Thy Neighbour". If you can't find this Oscar winner (for Best Animation Short oh so long ago) you are really missing out on something magical. A thing of beauty, and a Canadian gem. Thanks, Mr. McLaren.

If it wasn't for a brief mention made by François Truffaut about Norman McLaren on his book "Les Films de Ma vie" ("The Movies of My Life"), an recollection of his writing when he was critic, chances were high that I would be an ignorant who never seen the great works made by McLaren. Lucky me this didn't happened since "Neighbours" is one of the greatest short films ever made. Seriously!

In its eight minutes and with a simplicity that knows no boundaries (as explicitly shown at the ending with titles that urge us to "Love Thy Neighbours" in several languages), the movie is about two happy neighbors, the one from the left and the one from the right, living their lives in fulfillment since everything one has the other has as well. Everything's cool up until a flower appear in the property line between both houses which starts an heated, somewhat comic, horrendous fight between both to see who gets the flower. A funny beginning of discussion with humored solutions that becomes quite tragic (but so funny to look at it, except for a strange moment when the fight gets personal and a baby gets kicked far away).

This was shot in pixilation, an stop-motion animation with actors that is amazingly well-made and greatly edited (the first thing that came to my mind while watching it was Talking Heads clip Road to Nowhere). It's so cute, so simple yet it hides a more than an innocent message behind all those charming moments. This was released in 1952 and what was going on at that time that seems to reflect this movie? The war on Korea, conflict between neighbors and with some intervention from the U.S. Can I be more explicit than this? To me, this film is impactant just like Scorsese's "The Big Shave", they say more than what we see. One cannot watch something without taking in consideration the period the artist lived. It's all connected, it's all there. That's what art is all about.

Well-deserved Oscar for Norman and thank you Mr. Truffaut for presenting me this genius. 10/10

This is a rather heavy-handed but well made animated short about war. While the message is presented through "sledgehammer symbolism" (i.e., it wasn't exactly subtle), the film's stop-motion cinematography was very nice and well done. It certainly is interesting.

The movie begins with two normal looking 1950s era guy sitting outside their cutout homes. Both are sitting in lounge chairs reading their newspapers (which, in a not so subtle move, have headlines about war). Then, suddenly, a flower appears on the border of their yards and both think it's the most wonderful flower in the world. However, because they both love it so much, they begin fighting over it--almost like in a Tom & Jerry movie! At first, it's kind of funny, but when it degenerates to attacking their wives and babies, the joke is over. Ultimately, it ends on a very fitting note.

This eight minutes film is the most know work of animation and experimentation wizzard Norman McLaren. It is as fresh as it was en the early fifties, and also as much disturbing. But the message is (sadly) still OK today. The story is about two friendly neighbourgs taking some fresh air near their fence. Suddenly a flower grows. And the two men kill each other for knowing which side of the land belongs the flower. All this without words, but with experimental music that McLaren had draw on the movie tape.

Two neighbours emerge from their homes to sit on deck-chairs reading the same newspaper - with polar opposite headlines, before they become captivated by a dandelion that appears on their shared lawn. Curious, they investigate then both engage in some energetic and slightly surreal acrobatics around their garden followed by a slight "discussion" as to the ownership of the flower. Their peaceful co-existence is now threatened by a picket-fence! Is it the end of a beautiful friendship? Well only a fence-post duel and some fisticuffs might decide - assuming, of course, the watching plant decides to stick around or even survives for long enough! There's no dialogue but a quirky and lively, synthesised, soundtrack helps this daft, slightly slapstick, caper along entertainingly to a rather brutal and destructive denouement that did raise a smile. The moral? Well, love thy neighbour of course!

Two neighbours get into a rapidly escalating quarrel over a flower. Norman McLaren's hilarious pixilated paean to peace won the 1952 Oscar for Best Documentary (Short Subject) - an award was deserved but the category somewhat inappropriate for what is clearly a fantasy film. The film is silent with an odd experimental soundtrack and a surreal look to its (extremely) minimalist set. Like most Canadian kids, I saw the film numerous times in school and remember the class laughing uproariously as the increasingly monstrous neighbours battled, especially when they tore down each other's houses and dispatched both wives and babes (apparently we were allowed to see an unedited version as the attack on the families was often deleted to spare an assortment of sensitivities)). Timeless, kinetic fun with a message that still resonates 70 years later.

This is about the absurdity of conflict. Two men who are congenial neighbors enjoy the afternoon outside their houses. As they sit in their lounge chairs, a flower grows, roughly between the two properties. Soon they begin to battle over ownership. At first it is a matter of property lines, then a picket fence is constructed, and finally it is all out war. It gets more and more extreme until their wives and children are involved. It's easy to laugh at this; then we realize that it is not for laughs. The contrast aids in the effect.

...and a war. after 66 years late, it remains surprising, fresh and fascinating. not only for the mix of stop-motion and live-actin but for a sort of magic who escape from explanations. it is the film who reminds the feelings at the circus show from childhood. and that does it more than amusing. but a trip in time, discovering a real usefull lesson about friendship and the meanings of war. so, a flowe. and two men.

Neighbours is an amazing and sometimes vicious animated masterpiece.