It really pays to be part of a club in NYU in times like these.
The Contemporary East Asian Media Society "CEAMS" paid for tickets to see "Tales of the Night", conveniently showing in the Cantor NYU Film Center nearby (Tisch can share). Free tickets for movies in NYC? Score!
A French film with animation done by Michel Ocelot, "Tales of the Night" features a unique animation style that is 2D and portrays black silhouettes in the place of characters. A little hard to get used to at first, but they bring out the golds in the background. In the layout of the movie, it fits very well - the film is actually a framed story with three actors enacting several plays of all different international settings, and faceless characters fit each of the stories. There is also no set standards for "beauty", and the universal nature of the tales really come through.
To avoid spoilers, and the fact that I don't recall all of the storylines, here is an overview of the experience.
Many of the plays are drawn from actual legends from varied, often underrepresented cultures. The details of the clothing, architecture, and music flesh out the fables. Cathedrals from Medieval Europe, sunrise reflecting off the mountains of Tibet, etc. There is care taken to be historically accurate while the story itself is a fairy tale.
However, as the characters explain, there are tweaks to the tales. This is mostly to end the story with a message or theme that the original tale may have lacked or left unfinished, although in one instance an African story was brought to life in the Aztec cities instead (that one needed the tweaking though).
While humorous and dark tomes are evoked throughout, there are common themes to it all. As expected, "love conquers all", but also messages of the importance of generosity, honesty, joy and life. More often than not, you are left with a strong taste of irony at the end. In fact, some of the tales ran so deep I couldn't believe I was watching it with a room full of mostly children under four feet. Or the fact that they could sit still reading faded white subtitles that ran like "You caressed me so gently".
You really fell in love with the French language as the voice actors lull you with their smooth readings. I love myself a good fable, and each one was rendered short but sweet.
It's true that the interspersed, quick plays offer some more memorable than the others - funny is great, but the injustice and difficulties of the darker ones bother me even now. Particularly, the Tibetan tale with the horse is unforgettably disturbing: the actress kicks up a fuss about acting the part beforehand, and you definitely see why. Even their attempt at resolving it does not help the fact that I want to run and stab the girl. It leaves me reflecting on what that says about Tibet's traditions and values...okay, I actually went something like "Why Tibet whyyyyyyy". Watch it and cry.
In the end, I really wish I could've watched more of the other films - they all are quality pieces!
Particularly, "Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below", "A Letter to Momo", "Magic Piano", and the feature they used for their posters, "Le Tableu".
French, Japanese, and other international animation and claymation are really impressive works. The story lines are mind-blowingly creative, in my opinion far exceeding that of America's.
It's definitely worth the time to look these movies up if they release on DVD or online otherwise.
No comments:
Post a Comment