Just watch it, you’ll see what I mean.
Built more on trippy visuals than what you might consider a coherent narrative, animator Jules Boulain-Adenis’ PANACEE is a fantastical exploration of new worlds, the future, and in fact exploration itself.
The story, as mentioned, isn’t the star here, but for the sake of context, it deals with a pair of adventurers navigating very, very foreign lands characterized by pink skies and cigar-like clouds, and populated with birds of light and a floating menagerie conducted by a figure on whale-back. Me personally, I was left with an emotional aftertaste as though I’d just watched Aeon Flux infiltrate Howl’s Moving Castle, and in case that’s not clear, I mean it as a good thing. The animation is the main attraction here, simple, elegant, and extravagant in the imagination department. Boulain-Adenis, who also goes by the “stage name” Naleb, has previously issued a few short-shorts, but PANACEE is their first attempt at something longer, and it will make you yearn for a feature-length work. The balance between captivation and caution the characters exude is the tautest thread at work in the film, and the resolution, while not entirely cohesive, nevertheless closes a narrative circle that is itself foreign and fascinating.
Check out Boulain-Adenis’ other short works at their Vimeo page.
Source: Short of the Week
Related Topics: Animation, Short Films
