Filmofil.ba sa ponosom predstavlja kritike mladih autora nastale u okviru ovogodišnjeg programa Talents Sarajevo na 21. Sarajevo Film Festivalu
Piše: Miro Frakić
Prevela sa engleskog: Bojana Pušara
"Leševi!", uzviknula je. Vizije budućnosti rijetko su optimistične, ali kada je autor ciničan kao Don Hertzfeldt, možemo biti sigurni da će priča dostići Beketovske proporcije. Istovremeno na dobrom i lošem glasu zbog svojih bizarnih tragikomedija o društvenim i egzistencijalnim čudacima (Lilly and Jim, It's a Beautiful Day, Billy's Balloon), Hertzfeldt se vraća na filmsko platno sa sedamnaestominutnim filmom World of Tomorrow, koji predstavlja dodatni osvrt u kontekstu pogleda na međuljudske odnose. U budućnosti, tačnije za 227 godina, zvijezde padalice su tijela ljudi koji nisu sebi mogli priuštiti luksuznije teleportacijske usluge da bi napustili upropaštenu Zemlju. Ono što je nekada predstavljalo simbol ostvarenja snova, sada je odraz društvene nepravednosti.
Svijet sutrašnjice; režija: Don Hertzfeldt; uloge: Julia Pott, Winona Mae; 2015.
Hertzfeldtov posljednji film je prikazan u sklopu selekcije kratkih filmova sa Sundancea na 21. Sarajevo Film Festivala. Neobična animacija počinje vrlo jednostavno - djevojčica Emily uzima videotelefon falusnog oblika i otpočinje razgovor sa samom sobom iz budućnosti, klonom Emily iz treće generacije. Okrutno je predstavljeno šta budućnost donosi: odsustvo ljudskosti, bezosjećajnost i otuđena stvorenja koja na zabavama gledaju uspomene svojih prethodnih inkarnacija u potrazi za smislom svog postojanja. Otuđeni su, zapleteni u neobjašnjivi osjećaj nostalgije i nesposobni da u potpunosti prihvate svijet oko sebe. Dok se u pozadini mijenjaju oblici i boje, stvorenja u budućnosti se jedva pomjeraju. Malena i blaženo neupućena Emily još uvijek je dovoljno naivna da može osjetiti sreću.
U svojoj srži, World of Tomorrow je tipično snažni Hertzfeldtov zaplet prenesen u budućnost, koji gledaoca pogađa direktno u lice. Autor ne pokazuje nježnost pri saopštavanju poruke - Emily iz budućnosti je potpuno otupjela, što implicira da stvarnu vezu više nije moguće uspostaviti. Pošto u budućnosti ne postoji mentalni i emocionalni kapacitet za procesuiranje osjećaja, njene ljubavne veze su ostvarene sa kamenom, benzinskom pumpom i klonom bez mozga. Jedino ljudsko što je preostalo su uspomene. One su sada digitalizirane i proslijeđene redovima klonovima za potrebe održavanja prividnog života.
Veoma je interesantno da World of Tomorrow predstavlja Hertzfeldtov iskorak u svijet digitalne animacije. Njegov karakterističan crno - bijeli stil predstavljanja ljudi jednostavnim oblicima je upotpunjen digitalnim poigravanjem bojama, oblicima i linijama njihovog okruženja. Iako neuobičajeno za režisera, ova kombinacija djeluje kao uspješna cjelina. Koliko god bio uvrnut i zadivljujući, World of Tomorrow ostavlja slabiji utisak od autorovih ranijih radova, kao što je smjela priča Rejected ili crna komedija Everything Will Be OK. Emily prikazana kroz dva lika je ljupka i draga, ali u konačnici interakcija tih likova je monotona, što razvodnjava originalnu filmsku zamisao. U tom smislu, autor rizikuje da njegova nonšalantna genijalnost ne stigne do publike, što bio bila šteta, jer je Hertzfeldt zaista jedinstven u svijetu animacije.
Fillmofil.ba proudly represents the works of young crtics done in program Talents Sarajevo of 21st Sarajevo Film Festival
World of Tomorrow: The fault in our shooting stars
Written by: Miro Frakić Translation: Bojana Pušara
"Dead bodies!", she shouts. Visions of the future in the arts rarely ooze with optimism, but with an author as cynical as Don Hertzfeldt, one can be certain that the story will reach Beckettian proportions. Otherwise loved and notorious for his surreal tragic comedies about socially and existentially awkward people (Lilly and Jim, It's a Beautiful Day, Billy's Balloon), Hertzfeldt now returns with the 17-minute World of Tomorrow to deliver an additional blow to the notion of humanity. 227 years into the future, the shooting stars are bodies of people who cannot afford better teleportation services to flee the doomed Earth. What used to be the symbol of wishful possibility is now but a symptom of social injustice.
World of Tomorrow; director: Don Hertzfeldt; cast: Julia Pott, Winona Mae; 2015
It was in the Sundance-curated shorts programme at the 21st Sarajevo Film Festival that the audience got to experience Hertzfeldt's latest work. The wicked animation starts rather simple – with little Emily approaching a phallic videophone to receive a call from her future self, the third-generation Emily clone. A grim account is delivered of what the future holds: dehumanized, desensitized and alienated human beings binge-watching the memories of their previous incarnations in search for a sense of self. Estranged from themselves, they are stuck in an inexplicable feeling of nostalgia, unable to fully grasp the world around them. Thus, while the background changes, shifts in shapes and colours, the people of tomorrow barely move—everyone save for little and blissfully ignorant Emily. There is still naïvety left in her to feel joy.
At its core, World of Tomorrow is a typically forceful, in-your-face Hertzfeldt affair, transposed into the future. He is very unsubtle about what he wants to say – future Emily is fairly blunt in making a point that there is no real connection possible anymore. With no “mental and emotional capacity” to process her feelings, her love affairs include a rock, a gas pump and a brainless clone. Memories are, then, the only human quality they have left. These, now digitalized, are being passed along the line of clones for pseudo-life purposes.
Interestingly enough, the World of Tomorrow also marks Hertzfeldt's leap into digital animation. His characteristic black-and-white, simple-shaped style of human subjects is complemented with the digitally manipulated colours, shapes and lines of their surroundings. Although unusual for the director, the mix works well as an organic whole. However twisted and amusing, World of Tomorrow feels somewhat weaker compared to the author's previous works, such as the daringly novel Rejected or the darkly comical Everything Will Be OK. The two Emily's are endearing but ultimately monotonous in their interaction, which dilutes the film's original vision. At that point, its nonchalant ingenuity is at risk of being lost on the viewers, which would be a shame as Hertzfeldt is truly one of a kind in the animation world.
