C2 Entertainment The Epoch Times
New York International
Children’s Film Festival
A look at some of the entries at the IFC Center’s program for the young and grown
By JOE BENDEL
‘in the attic’
One Czech family’s attic is filled
with castoff items including a va-
riety of old toys and a military bust
leftover from the communist era.
Yet even in mothballs, their funda-
mental natures remain the same in
Jiri Barta’s stop-motion-animated
feature “In the Attic” or “Who Has
a Birthday Today?”
A magical story
that should enchant
youngsters, while
fascinating their
Matsubayashi Ranze, Ballerina. the epoch times parents with its
shrewd commentary.
Shen Yun Performing Arts New
York Company in Tokyo
Even though they have been dis-
carded by humanity, life is pleasant
‘In Japan, we can only see Chinese for an enclave of old toys. Every day
Buttercup, a girly girl’s doll, bakes a
performances bounded by the Chinese regime. cake for a teddy bear, a marionette
knight, and a silly-putty man, who
Being able to see something so different roll a special birthday die for the
daily honors. Yet, danger lurks in
this time is simply great. I am glad to have the far reaches of the attic.
Head, a surviving piece of com-
witnessed the authentic Chinese culture.’ munist statuary, covets Buttercup
and enlists his insect minions (na-
—Matsubayashi Ranze, Ballerina ture’s collectivists) and the house
cat (who is just plain evil) to kidnap
her. Of course, the squabbling toys
launch a rescue mission with the
help of the rest of the toy community
and a sympathetic rat, but the terrain
of Head’s Land of Evil is forbidding,
and he maintains absolute control
through his cult of personality.
While the quest story, co-written
by Barta and Edgar Dutka, might
not hold a lot of surprises per se, it
is the visually dazzling journey that
counts. Rendered without the aid
of computers, Barta creates a richly
detailed, fully realized world, filled
with winningly eccentric flourishes.
Head (the flesh-and-blood head of
Czech actor Jiri Labus rendered
through Barta’s animation process)
also makes a thoroughly creepy
screen villain, effectively channel-
ing fallen communist icons and
dystopian Big Brother archetypes
(if there is any difference between
the two).
Considered an animator’s anima-
tor, Barta’s style is perfectly suited
to the film’s familiar yet mysterious
setting and fable-like story. Though
some scenes with Head are undeni-
ably intense, the festival program
frankly makes it sound much darker
than it really is. It is a magical story
that should enchant youngsters,
Jolande van der Kemp, Media company owner. the epoch times
while fascinating their parents with
its shrewd commentary. Enthusi-
astically recommended, it screens
again next Sunday (March 14) at the
Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring IFC Center, as the NYICFF contin-
ues through March 21 (but never on
Company in Amsterdam school nights).
‘little white lies’
‘It was a good performance. We believe why Young German school children
prove only too willing to turn on
they were telling us this was [to bring out] the each other for murky reasons in
Marcus Rosenmuller’s “Little White
best part of us.’ Lies.”
In 1931 Germany, Alexander’s
—Jolande van der Kemp, Media company owner school is divided into the A class
and the B class. What started as
an arbitrary administrational divi-
(Regarding the performance, “Nothing Can Block the Divine Path,” about sion has established two fairly rigid
a child whose mother is arrested in the park for practicing the spiritual cliques. One fateful day an older
meditation system, Falun Gong.) student joins A class. The son of
Shen Yun Performing Arts International
Company in Louisville
‘I found it to be very uplifting. The traditional
song and dance, the experience of a culture
that I am not that familiar with—I found to be
a wonderful thing.’
—Bill Burger, Assistant to the lieutenant governor of Kentucky
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2010 World
Tour. For more information, please visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org. ATTIC TALES: A scene from the animated film “In the Attic.” jiri barta
RUN: A scene from the film “Little White Lies.” marcus rosenmüller
the local absentee industrialist,
Langer Gruber, is definitely trou-
ble. Though wary of him, Alexander
finds himself manipulated by the
older boy. Through his own lies and
cowardice, Alexander has victimized
B-Karli, a fellow student from his
rival class, partly through Gruber’s
instigation. As a result, Alexander
meekly submits when his sinister
classmate organizes the A’s into a
fascist gang. Wearing brown scarves
instead of brown shirts, it is obvious
what Gruber’s anti-B campaign rep-
resents. (In this context, Gruber’s
name is actually an odd distraction,
being a relatively common Jewish
surname.)
It vividly dramatizes
how one deceit can
snowball out of
control, offering an
efficacious vehicle
for parents to
discuss tolerance
and personal
responsibility.
Unmistakably, “Lies” is indeed a
children’s film. It is told from Alex-
ander’s perspective, focusing almost
exclusively on its juvenile charac-
ters. Rosenmuller handles the film’s
evolution in tone from realistic com-
ing-of-age story to cerebral fable sur-
prisingly smoothly. Yet, the rather
strange fusion of mature allegory
and kid-friendly slapstick action
might well be seen by American
distributors as neither fish nor fowl,
likely limiting domestic screening
opportunities to the festival circuit.
That would be unfortunate though,
because there is some worthy sub-
stance to “Lies.” It vividly dramatizes
how one deceit can snowball out of
control, offering an efficacious ve-
hicle for parents to discuss tolerance
and personal responsibility.
Though often dark, “Lies” has
a consistently classy sheen thanks
to the artful contributions of cin-
ematographer Torsten Breuer and
composer Gerd Baumann. It also
features some very strong work
from its youthful cast, particularly
Markus Krojer as the tormented Al-
exander. Among the adults, Brigitte
Hobmeier easily takes the honors
portraying Klari, as a loving but re-
alistically flawed mother.
“Lies” actually finds some mea-
sure of hope for humanity. While
parents and children might be
watching it on different levels, both
should find it quite a satisfying film
experience. It screens again Sun-
day after next (March 21) at the IFC
Center.
‘fantastic planet’
It was an award winner at the 1973
Cannes Film Festival that was dis-
tributed in America by schlock mas-
ter Roger Corman. While it might
sound like oddly sophisticated fare
for the low budget mogul, he knew
a trippy property when he saw one.
A surreal animated classic, René
Laloux’s “Fantastic Planet” might
play to more boomers in the audi-
ence than young viewers, when it
has a special repertory screening as
part of this year’s celebration of “The
Animauteurs: 50 Years of French
Animation” as part of NYICFF.
CANNES WINNER: A still from the
1973 animated film “Fantastic Planet.”
courtesy of cqn releasing
The Traags (a.k.a. Draags) are big-
headed, blue giants, who rule their
planet through their superior tech-
nology and long life spans. Humans,
known as Oms (based on hommes
the French word for Men) are either
kept as pets or exterminated like ver-
min. However, deliverance might be
Transports viewers
to a different world.
coming for the Oms when Terr, an
orphaned house pet, starts learning
the knowledge of the Traags through
his young mistress’s telepathically
imparted lessons. Blending arche-
types from the Prometheus legend
and the Book of Exodus, “Planet”
is a genuine science fiction fable,
memorably brought to life through
the mind-altering animation of
Laloux’s French and Czech produc-
tion team.
Though the animation renders
characters somewhat stiff and in-
expressive, it truly transports view-
ers to a different world. Indeed,
“Planet” de-emphasizes character-
ization in favor of its otherworldly
imagery of lush fauna and Dali-like
landscapes. The psychedelic vibe is
further heightened by a distinctive
proggy jazz fusion soundtrack by
Alain Goraguer, which is very cool,
but definitely a product of its time.
While certainly a stylistic triumph
of French (and Czech) animation,
it is a bit of an odd choice for the
NYICFF. Though never risqué,
“Planet” features frequent National
Geographic-style animated nudity,
which parents should be aware
of going in. Also, the opening se-
quence showing an Om woman
with child being tormented by Traag
children might be too intense for
young viewers (frankly, I still find
it disturbing).
March 10, 2010
Over 35 years after it won the spe-
cial jury prize at Cannes, “Planet” is
still one strange trip. Recommended
more for adults than children, it
screens next Saturday (March 13)
at Symphony Space as part of NY-
ICFF’s French animation celebra-
tion. Those interested in seeing it
on a big screen with an appreciative
audience should bear in mind NY-
ICFF is a festival that often sells out
and even adds screenings.
‘runaway’ (animated short)
Again showing superior program-
ming taste, this year’s NYICFF in-
cludes Cordell Barker’s “Runaway”
as one of its several blocks of short
films.
‘Runaway’ involves a
cow, an out of control
train, a little fur ball
of a dog, and an
engineer’s assistant
trying desperately
to save the day.
The Canadian Barker’s anima-
tion might look light-hearted and
whimsical, but at its core, “Run-
away” is a gleefully subversive gem
of a film. Nine minutes of madcap
humor, “Runaway” involves a cow,
an out of control train, a little fur
ball of a dog, and an engineer’s as-
sistant trying desperately to save
the day.
It all hurtles down the track to
the propulsive rhythm of Benoit
Charest’s soundtrack. Best known
for the score of Silvain Chomet’s
“The Triplets of Belleville,” Cha-
rest’s music for “Runaway” has a
similar spirit, sounding something
like a mutated form of early hot jazz
on some serious acid. Charest also
brought in many of the same jazz
musicians, who recorded “Triplets”
including the drummer Jim Doxas
and his saxophonist brother Chet,
both of whom have played with the
highly regarded Canadian jazz pia-
nist Oliver Jones.
“Runaway” is an inspired act of
lunacy, rendered in sophisticated
style. It screens the next two succes-
sive Saturdays (March 13 and March
20) as part of “Short Films One.”
NYICFF seems to have a knack for
selecting interesting shorts, with
“Runaway” certainly being a case
in point.
FILM SHORT: A still from the nine-
minute-animated film “Runaway.”
courtesy of national board of film
canada
Other short film highlights in-
clude the Oscar-nominated “French
Roast,” whose homeless-man-
teaches-uptight-businessman-a-
lesson-in-living story line is more
than a little trite, but at least it also
boasts a pleasing soundtrack, com-
posed by Olivier Llioutry and fea-
turing the flute of jazz musician
Bobby Rangell. Jake Armstrong’s
“Terrible Thing From Alpha 9” is
quite notable as well for probably
the most macabre closing titles you
are likely to see at a children’s film
festival anytime soon. Now under-
way, the NYICFF will screen several
short programming blocks through-
out the festival, which continues
through March 21.
Joe Bendel blogs on jazz and cul-
tural issues at jbspins.blogspot.com
and coordinated the Jazz Founda-
tion of America’s instrument donation
campaign for musicians displaced by
Hurricane Katrina.