User Reviews

An imaginative and thought provoking piece of contemporary interpretive dance set to the music of Thom Yorke - our should that be the other way around? The point is, the music and dance really one single piece of beautifully crafted art, making you think about life's struggles and how different they might be if you find the right person to share them with.

What do you get when you combine the music of Radiohead's Thom Yorke and the imagery of Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread, Magnolia) with choreography by Damien Jalet (Suspiria)? You get one hell of a visual treat that blows your senses away.

Set in a dystopian world where a tired and disheveled Thom Yorke is joined in a choreograph of movements by other fellow passengers on a train. There he catches the eye of a fellow passenger and thus begins his long lost journey to get to her.

Three songs from Yorke's new album, ANIMA, are combined to create this spellbinding fifteen minutes, with the camera angles capturing the inventive and unique choreography perfectly. The set design and art direction are effective thanks to the cinematography, And Yorke does give a fine performance, with his twitching eye stealing the show!

This is the work of artists who wish to express something elemental in human nature.

I can't say for sure I know what they had in mind exactly, or what another person might experience from their viewing; what I can say is that it is masterly work and for me it's about connection.

The last time I saw something this affecting was Michael Dudok De Wit's The Red Turtle; Anima is every bit as life affirming (even though it may evoke tears).

There's little point in elaborating on plot points and such because that's not what work like this is about; it's something to be experienced at a near subconscious level.

I will very likely watch this for a long time to come: many times over.

Mr Yorke, Mr Anderson; Thank You.

I bawled my eyes out! So did my wife. There is always more than meets the eye (and ear) with both PT Anderson and Thom, and this truly is a masterpiece fitting of their filmographies. Knowing a bit about Mr Yorke and what he has been through in the last few years can make for some supremely heart breaking stuff, and Anima is just about the most perfect love letter ever written. This is art, real art 😭

Interesting visuals, interesting choreography, interesting music, I was thoroughly entertained.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love, The Master) and with music written and performed by Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Anima is hard to describe. Calling it simply a music video is an understatement. It is more than a visual promotion for a song, with the visual aspects have as much, if not more, of a meaning than the music. Besides it's 15 minutes long!

The finished product is interesting and reasonably entertaining. Not brilliant or compelling, but not a bad way to spend 15 minutes.

Lovely visuals by PTA and artsy sound by Thom.. Enjoyable audio-visual journey that reminded me of the old days when people cared about videos that work with the music.

Following "Licorice Pizza", I have decided that the time is right for a PTA retrospective. I'm not going to watch all the music videos, but I am going to try for some, if not all, of the short films - starting with the most recent, and easiest to find "Anima" a collaboration with Radiohead's Thom Yorke, that is readily available on Netflix.

The short is a choreographed expressive dance piece, linked to three songs from Yorke's solo album "Anima" so the narrative is a little open to interpretation, but it concerns Thom (Thom Yorke) who meets a girl (Dajana Roncione) on the train. He attempts to return her forgotten lunch pail to her but is caught in a cycle of systems and routines that keep them apart. Though he catches glimpses across his day, he's unable to get close to her. The routines and oppression are expressed by brutalist concrete architecture, singular black outfits and the dances.

I think your tolerance for this is probably going to depend very much on how much you enjoy Radiohead's later work, as Yorke and producer Nigel Godrich provide the score and it's the sort of electronic soundscape that we've come to expect from those albums, and from Yorke solo work.

I don't have much of an interest in dance in any form, particularly this form of expressive work, but still I think even I could tell that the chorography was clever and helped to tell the love story that the short was providing. Having initially though that Yorke might, because of his character in this, rebel against the systems and plough through but he actually participates in it at times, and in some of the more complex dance aspects too, it also was quite impressive. If you consider the short against what has happened in Thom Yorke's life in the last few years, and the casting, it adds another, deeper, level of meaning to the film.

I can't pretend that this is the sort of thing that I'm really into, but in general terms I could appreciate the skill and effort that went into making it.

Although its exploration of the dystopian societies is nothing new, ANIMA is a fairly entertaining, and occasionally disturbing, hypnotic treat for the senses.

(8/10)

ANIMA is a short story film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and features Tom Yorke and his partner, actress Dajana Roncione. My interpretation of the short film represents how a collectivist society contrasts with individualism. Tom Yorke represents an individual who is trying to conform to a society he is not accustomed to. The symbolism for his individuality is represented by his briefcase in which followers of a collectivist society take away from him. Tom Yorke then tries to take his briefcase (individuality)back from them but the followers do not allow him to. Tom Yorke then sits alone in a whirlwind which can be represented as his frustration. He falls asleep but soon wakes up beside his love with calming music as they board a bus together. The conclusion for the film represents freedom and how there will always be support, understanding and encouragement for someone accustomed to individualism even if society tries to take it away from you.

I love both Thom Yorke's work as well as Paul Thomas Anderson's work so is it really any surprise I would love this? The previous music video work the two have done together were all pretty great, and it feels as if it all built up to this. Not in terms of this being the ultimate climax of their work together or something, but more that this 15 minute short musical film was incredibly well done and feels like Yorke and Anderson mixed both their fields of work together perfectly for each other. Great!

(Flash Review)

And this is coming from someone well-versed in Radiohead's music catalog as well as their music videos such as 7 Television Commercials and the Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time, which are both outstanding!!! This has some bold and striking choreography blended with the minimalistic sound reminiscent of the last Radiohead album and solo Yorke. Maybe because I couldn't comprehend the lyrics, I missed the core meaning but it was visually cool but without the depth or maybe I need to understand how to interpret dance.

It's PTA and Thom Yorke. I mean what else could you possibly ask for??? Not to mention Prague.....

Thom Yorke's ANIMA and the directing of this film by Paul Thomas Anderson are quite a piece of art. 15 fantastic minutes.

Based on Thom Yorke's third solo album of the same name "Anima" is a collaboration between the Radiohead frontman and renowned director Paul Thomas Anderson. A 15 minute short on the drudgery of modern urban living "Anima" finds Yorke co-writing the soundtrack and in the lead role as a common man going through the tedium of day to day life. Using robotic synchronized choreography to depict life's mundanity Yorke and the rest of the cast bend, hop, slide and glide through the film rounding out in full circle life's course by finding themselves back where they came from at the end of the flick. I looked forward to seeing this film with some anticipation as it looked promising but was disappointed early in the film with the corny routines the actors made. I was expecting a darker, cooler and deeper film that would have complemented Yorke's best work. Instead I was witness to what looked like a backdrop to a Michael Jackson concert. That said despite the boring view it's good to see Yorke branching out in middle age and doing pretty well at it. For fans and the curious.

There's a magnificent composition with a great sound engineering example, especially, I recommend to listen it with a good quality headphone. Furthermore, the chill atmosphere of Prague was represented good through a brilliant choreography, so there's a perfect harmony between place and actions. There are also so many metaphors which we can match/catch some of them from our daily lifes.

In brief, it'll able to get you down even in the opening scene. Congrats to whole of the crew. Trust me, this is a really really good stuff.

I have to say I love Radiohead's music. The music in this short is as brilliant as ever, and Thom Yorke still manages to bring that particular melancholic mood out. However, I really thought Thom Yorke could have used a bit of image consultancy in this film. He looks so out of place among the beautiful dancers.

The first song is just great, Thom Yorke's solo career is superb since that astonishing soundtrack he made for Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria; the second song's not as good as the first one, but is still good.

I didn't liked the choreography that much, the lights and effects were ok, and PTA's part? just as the headline says: meh, this one-reeler could've been directed for M. Night Shyamalan and no one would've known the difference.

7/10

PTA is my favourite filmmaker, and his work on Amina is absolutely on par with everything I've come to love and expect from him. Thom's music changed my life (without getting corny about it), and this album is hands down his best work. It's emotive, breathtaking art from two of the absolute best in their respective fields.

Could have fininshed it in 5 minutes, but PTA decided to bore us to hell with it.

Both artists completed and complemented each other awesomely. Thom and Nigel's music, Paul's imagery, the choregraphies... it all blends into something unique. Congratulations!

I watched anima when it was released, but didn't review it. I've been listening to a lot of radiohead recently so I decided to watch it again.

Unsurprisingly I really loved the music on my first watch, this hasn't changed. The unique sounds used fit the scenery brilliantly.

Unfortunately I thought Thom Yorke's performance was a little bit goofy, it worked during some scenes. But approaching the end it was hard to take him as seriously as I think we are meant to. Dajana Roncione was pretty great though.

Even though anima is only 15 minutes I think it tells a fairly complex story very well. The story is portrayed extremely well, especially considering the extremely minimal dialogue. I really appreciated the subtlety of the storytelling. The story is interesting and seems like something that would work as a feature length film.

The beautiful, hypnotising choreography is my absolute favourite thing in anima. This along with the set design and soundtrack gave the film a unique feel that I would love to experience again as a feature film.

People often like to read too much into visual art, especially the abstract type. In order to say something smart and rare, people even end up seeing things that the original artist never intended, as it quietly assures them of access to a rare wavelength. Of course, artists too often deliberately create absurd art and leave it open to interpretation, allowing viewers to let their imaginations run crazy riots.

The work I am reviewing has been created by two highly talented individuals -- Radiohead's Thom Yorke, and film director, Paul Thomas Anderson. The work is a music video of a 3-piece compilation from Thom Yorke's solo album, Anima, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Both are remarkable artists in their own fields, and it is obvious that everyone would expect a superlative artwork every time they move a finger. Unfortunately, I didn't find that to be the case here. I don't see anything special. It's easy to tell that visuals have been filmed by a pro and are thus nice to look at, but they are neither mind-bending nor visceral, as has been claimed by drooling critics, almost all of whom fall into the category of people discussed in the first paragraph. Even the composition by Yorke is forgettable. All the sonic landscaping that this guy does with his band, Radiohead, is altogether missing here.

The entire visual imagery in the video is basically an attempt to depict, by the way of dance moves, the dreary existence most urban dwellers endure, marred by cutthroat competition for materials around them and cloying moralities that turn into regrets when it's too late in life. At least that's what I understood. It's a shame that both gentlemen picked such a beaten-up theme and put out a mediocre product.

Actually, flogging a piece of art is not fair, because art is neither good or bad, nor logical or methodical. Art is what each person perceives it to be. However, this is my attempt to explain the basis for my disliking.

I am a huge fan of both Yorke/Radiohead and PTA, but I refuse to be compelled to like this just because popular names are associated with it. It is just a one-time watch thing. One-time watch, only to see what the bloody brouhaha is all about. It is neither boring nor radically innovative, but just watchable...

...and forgettable.

Really beautiful, on every level, choreography, visuals, practical yet trippy effects, fantastic score (and I haven't liked Radiohead for a while). Just brilliant, intimate, heartfelt and surreal. I would have given it a 10, but the cylopes freaked me out a bit.

BTW ZVLASTNI JIZDA literally means strange drive, but in context, I think it means knowledge journey.

Turn it up when you watch if you can.