World of Tomorrow

Bitter Films

I have written about Don Hertzfeldt previously. To see his work is to change your perspective on a bevy of topics, including film, animation, and the world we live in. With this new, sci-fi animated short he questions aspects of linear time, transportation, and the future, in one semi-coherent story. The story comes from Winona Mae, Hertzfeldt's niece, who was recorded while she was playing and drawing. Afterward Hertzfeldt put together this strange storyline. The short was screened at Sundance and was up for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short.

 The drug fueled craziness of this film will put you out of your own head, and confuse, but it's definitely worth the watch. The animation style mostly focuses on stick figured people and strange geometric shapes. It puts you at odds with conventional animation, which in recent years has veered more and more towards the realistic, which is why computer animation has become so prevalent. This is seen in Charlie Kauffman's contender for Best Animated Film "Anomalisa," which could have been made into a regular live-action film, but is stop-motion claymation. Hertzfeldt is on the other side of the spectrum, making films that are obviously not realistic and question reality itself. Hertzfeldt has a great sense of humor that lies in the darkness, the obscure, and macabre labyrinth of the human mind.

It's amazing that he hasn't made something in the sci-fi genre until now, as his stories often deal more with what could be than what is. Currently this short is on Netflix, with Hertzfeldt's only full-length film "It's a Beautiful Day." Please see this at your leisure, because it truly is worth the time.