User Reviews

For not define it too bizarre, it is useful to see it as a parable. It has more sense, a special beauty and gives the opportunity to explore the neurosis of a middle age man in more easy and useful manner. And if you are a middle age teacher, the animation works more than well. In essence, nothing special, only deep honesty about perspective of marriage, oldness, deep fantasies and what is real important. And the clash between animation and real enviromental stuffs is more than a good point. So, a beautiful animation, first as support for reflection about near reality and yourself, maybe for acceptance of them.

Visually this short film has an interesting mix of animation and real world. It is not unique to this film to put animated characters interacting with real world objects, but I've not seen it done in a way that is quite so mundane and dull. I mean this in a good way. The approach puts the characters convincingly in the humdrum existence that we all share, but at the same time the animated element means that more fantasy aspects can play out. Malcolm is a tragic character as he feels uncomfortable in his skin, and it is something that is becoming more evident to him as so much else in his life becomes routine and lacking. Although the film has some reasonably graphic images/situations, the heart of it is pretty pure.

In maintaining this, it helps the viewer over the darker moments, and keeps it about Malcolm as a person. Likewise, as daft as it is as a concept, the humanity is effective and engaging. The animation is well delivered in the midst of the real places, and I found it effortlessly easy to care for Malcolm and root for him, even if I had no frame of reference for his struggle. As odd as this gets (and it does get odd), it is well worth watching for how well it treats its central characters.