Pixilation

Pixilation is a type of stop-motion animation that uses people instead of things such as objects or puppets. One of the earliest experiments with this form of art was in 1909, when Segundo de Chomón created a comedy-fantasy called, El hotel eléctrico. The film is a surreal short that depicts a suit case unpacking and furniture rapid swirling around in a room. The film was a part in several attempts at pixilation for Chomón.

-Matt

L'Illusionniste 2010, A Love Letter from Tati

After doing some research and coming up with nothing too remarkably sound-related, I found I couldn't focus on anything after I saw L'Illusioniste last Thursday at Kendall Square Cinema. I first saw advertisements for the film, directed by Triplets-famed Sylvain Chomet, while studying abroad in Paris, and it was unfortunately so close to the end of my stay that I couldn't see it there in a Parisian cinématheque. However, it stayed on my mind since as the one film I was absolutely aching to see-- I had obviously seen and loved The Triplets of Belleville and was super thrilled to see a new film from the creators.

The film is an adaptation of a screenplay written by the late french mime, Jacques Tati, originally written as a letter to his estranged daughter. The story in Chomet's interpretation follows a struggling magician who travels from Paris to Scotland in the 1950's, and along the way meets a young girl who believes his magic to be real. While generally praised for its poetic visuals and fabulous settings and character design, some die-hard fans of Tati's work found Chomet's adaptation ultimately disappointing. There will always be mixed feelings when one filmmaker is charged with the task of adapting the work of another, especially when the latter is deceased-- but I still find this film a piece of its own, and a wonderful and sentimental homage to the legend that was Tati.

-Lily.

Little Nemo

Winsor McCay's comic about a young boy named Nemo was introduced in 1905. The original title was Little Nemo in Slumberland, but was changed later to In the Land of Wonderful Dreams, when it was picked up by a different newspaper.
The story followed the adventures of Nemo in the dream world of Slumberland. Often Nemo would find himself in dangerous and even life threatening situations, but always woke up in his bed before anything should happen to him.
McCay, along with James Stuart Blackton, created a short animation based on the comic strip in 1911. Later, in 1989, director Masami and Masanori Hata, along with William T. Hurtz, made a feature animated film loosely based on McCay's comics. The film was first released in Japan in 1989. Then in the US in 1992. The film was not well received by viewers and considered a box office flop, despite getting positive reviews from several papers. The film is beautifully done and has a wonderful storyline. I highly recommend it.

|-Kelly-|