Rotoscope-style animation gives this version of Władysław Reymont’s story an interesting look, but the performances and tone can’t live up to the visuals
Husband-and-wife film-makers Dk Welchman (née Dorota Kobiela) and Hugh Welchman made a real impression five years ago with their animation Loving Vincent, made in a pastiche style of Van Gogh’s own paintings using digital techniques to enhance hand-painted original work – a bit like the rotoscope approach of computer animation pioneer Bob Sabiston. A single-joke or single-idea movie, perhaps, but certainly interesting. Now, to some acclaim, they have done the same thing to the 1904-09 novel The Peasants by Nobel prizewinner Władysław Reymont (first adapted for Polish TV in the early 70s).
There’s the same digi-painted world derived from live action, the same visual effect of the forms and details on screen seeming always imperceptibly to throb or rustle, like a field of corn.
Husband-and-wife film-makers Dk Welchman (née Dorota Kobiela) and Hugh Welchman made a real impression five years ago with their animation Loving Vincent, made in a pastiche style of Van Gogh’s own paintings using digital techniques to enhance hand-painted original work – a bit like the rotoscope approach of computer animation pioneer Bob Sabiston. A single-joke or single-idea movie, perhaps, but certainly interesting. Now, to some acclaim, they have done the same thing to the 1904-09 novel The Peasants by Nobel prizewinner Władysław Reymont (first adapted for Polish TV in the early 70s).
There’s the same digi-painted world derived from live action, the same visual effect of the forms and details on screen seeming always imperceptibly to throb or rustle, like a field of corn.
- 12/5/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Being self taught in animating, script-work and directing, director Wan Dinnie founded D-Mulsion Production in 2008, through which he has gone on to create many short film projects, some of which were recently covered on our site.. Wan Dinnie is a true film fanatic, who loves to share his interest in film. Dinnie’s varied interest in films sees him constantly experimenting with various techniques, both in visuals and narrative. The mix of Diy, and noticeable influences creates a contrasting mix of familiarity and uniqueness within each production. Currently working as a teacher, his work often features his students playing an active role as cast and crew, which adds an undeniable charm to his work.
On the occasion of our coverage of his short films we got a chance to speak to the director about his creative process.
Being a self taught director what were some of the difficulties you faced getting into film making?...
On the occasion of our coverage of his short films we got a chance to speak to the director about his creative process.
Being a self taught director what were some of the difficulties you faced getting into film making?...
- 10/30/2019
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Mixing animation, film and verbatim accounts, this bold memorial of the first school massacre in Texas in 1966 is compelling and terribly sad
Keith Maitland’s Tower is a bold dive into the past. It’s a collage mixing rotoscope animation, in the style of Bob Sabiston and Richard Linklater, with dramatic reconstruction and verbatim testimony. It immerses you in the bad dream that was Us history’s first “school massacre”: the University of Texas (Ut) Tower shooting. In the summer of 1966, former marine Charles Whitman went up to the observation deck on the 28th floor of the Ut Tower and opened fire, killing 14 people and injuring 31, before being shot dead by two officers and one deputised civilian. Maitland has interviewed dozens of witnesses, and got actors to speak their words to camera as these eyewitnesses’ younger selves and enact key dramatic moments in digitally captured rotoscope, mixing in genuine...
Keith Maitland’s Tower is a bold dive into the past. It’s a collage mixing rotoscope animation, in the style of Bob Sabiston and Richard Linklater, with dramatic reconstruction and verbatim testimony. It immerses you in the bad dream that was Us history’s first “school massacre”: the University of Texas (Ut) Tower shooting. In the summer of 1966, former marine Charles Whitman went up to the observation deck on the 28th floor of the Ut Tower and opened fire, killing 14 people and injuring 31, before being shot dead by two officers and one deputised civilian. Maitland has interviewed dozens of witnesses, and got actors to speak their words to camera as these eyewitnesses’ younger selves and enact key dramatic moments in digitally captured rotoscope, mixing in genuine...
- 2/2/2017
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Sure, Waking Life is in some ways Linklater’s metaphysical remake of Slacker, exploding the Gen-x barriers thrown up around that landmark work and bringing it closer to a transcendent plane that he’s trying trying trying to reach, especially in this era, but never quite grasping. That’s what appeals to a lot of us about Linklater’s work, that it’s never quite there. His curiosity has to be bound by the physical demands of cinema. But this, this weird film, shot-on-digital and animated by rotoscope on computers, comes closest. Those formats mean it never really “existed” in any physical space. Produced at the dawn of the 21st century, it’s the perfect summation of a moment in time when thought and curiosity might be enough to carry civilization, when restless unease was the result of an economic boom and not certain doom, when the popular cinema could still be a little wily,...
- 7/13/2016
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
Moving bits of paper around (the old way) or painting with billions of pixels (the new) has conjured up some of the greatest films of all time. From The Iron Giant to Persepolis, Guardian and Observer critics pick the 10 best
• Top 10 war movies
• Top 10 teen movies
• Top 10 superhero movies
• Top 10 westerns
• Top 10 documentaries
• Top 10 movie adaptations
• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s
10. The Tale of the Fox
A sneaky fox plays a series of underhand tricks on his neighbours in the animal kingdom, among them a timorous hare and a gullible wolf. The king of the beasts, a lion, summons him to face charges but the fox proceeds to outwit everyone, including the king himself. When Ladislas Starevich told this tale in the 1930s it was by no means new – versions of the Reynard story had been circulating around Europe for the best part of a millennium – but the...
• Top 10 war movies
• Top 10 teen movies
• Top 10 superhero movies
• Top 10 westerns
• Top 10 documentaries
• Top 10 movie adaptations
• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s
10. The Tale of the Fox
A sneaky fox plays a series of underhand tricks on his neighbours in the animal kingdom, among them a timorous hare and a gullible wolf. The king of the beasts, a lion, summons him to face charges but the fox proceeds to outwit everyone, including the king himself. When Ladislas Starevich told this tale in the 1930s it was by no means new – versions of the Reynard story had been circulating around Europe for the best part of a millennium – but the...
- 11/20/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Coming to VOD nationwide and digital platforms on March 12, Bob Byington's Somebody Up There Likes Me is an offbeat comedy that delighted audiences at the 2012 SXSW. Heralded by The Hollywood Reporter as 'highly original and delightfully unorthodox...like a Todd Solondz film directed by Wes Anderson,' the film features an all-star indie cast led by Nick Offerman and Keith Poulson. The film skips through 35 years in the life of Max Youngman (Poulson), following him through his courtship and marriage to Lyla (Jess Weixler), also the object of affection for his best friend Sal (Offerman). Never seeming to age, Max and the adults characters closest to him stumble in and out of comically misguided relationships and happenstances that are seamlessly woven together by the animated vignettes provided by Bob Sabiston (A Scanner Darkly). Somebody Up There Likes Me is one smart and quirky satire that opens all kinds of...
- 2/11/2013
- TribecaFilm.com
Tribeca Film has aquired SXSW comedy "Somebody Up There Likes Me," starring Keith Poulson, Nick Offerman ("Parks & Recreation") and Jess Weixler ("Teeth"), and featuring rotoscoped sequences courtesy of Bob Sabiston ("A Scanner Darkly"). Check out the trailer below. In the film, Bob Byington ("Harmony and Me," "Rso [Registered Sex Offender]") mixes actors with non-pros in this fable about a man watching his life pass by. Max (Keith Poulson) and his chum Sal (Nick Offerman) and the woman they love, Lyla (Jess Weixler), stumble through thirty-five years of various unsatisfying relationships. Vampire Weekend’s Chris Baio provides the score for the film, which is produced by Offerman. Tribeca Films plans a spring 2013 theatrical release date, with the usual on-demand platforms of iTunes, Amazon, et al.
- 7/25/2012
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Movie studios, take note. Here’s how you announce a film is being made available to an audience. With today’s announcement that Tribeca Films have picked up Bob Byington’s comedy Somebody Up There Likes Me for a March 2013 video-on-demand and theatrical run, some of the stars of the film (and other acquaintances) got together to celebrate, or something to that effect.
In the below video one can find star Nick Offerman (Parks & Recs‘ Ron Swanson) with wife Megan Mullally and Community‘s Alison Brie (the latter is not involved in the film) partaking in some celebratory festivities and trying to remember details of said film. It’s hilarious and best of all, a bit different from most stale announcements. We quite liked the film, also starring Keith Poulson and Jess Weixler, at SXSW saying, “Byington is fully in control and has crafted the most detached comedy of the year thus far.
In the below video one can find star Nick Offerman (Parks & Recs‘ Ron Swanson) with wife Megan Mullally and Community‘s Alison Brie (the latter is not involved in the film) partaking in some celebratory festivities and trying to remember details of said film. It’s hilarious and best of all, a bit different from most stale announcements. We quite liked the film, also starring Keith Poulson and Jess Weixler, at SXSW saying, “Byington is fully in control and has crafted the most detached comedy of the year thus far.
- 7/25/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
How are you doing with your new year’s resolutions? Did you start this month with enthusiasm and optimism? We seem to enjoy this annual ritual of creating restrictions for ourselves. Some restrictions which seem to complement each other (like exercising and eating less chocolate) in fact serve to double the challenge (burning more calories while taking in fewer). Others (like working harder and maintaining good posture at the computer) really work against each other. Still, most of us make new year’s resolutions every year, and enjoy setting challenges for ourselves, and dreaming of success.
Creatively, challenges can work wonders. In 1960s Czechoslovakia, there was a temporary liberalisation of culture, but censorship remained in place, forcing the young Czech New Wave directors to find creative ways around these restrictions. Much contemporary experimentation comes as a way of dealing with restricted funding. But in some cases, directors can benefit from imposing restrictions on themselves.
Creatively, challenges can work wonders. In 1960s Czechoslovakia, there was a temporary liberalisation of culture, but censorship remained in place, forcing the young Czech New Wave directors to find creative ways around these restrictions. Much contemporary experimentation comes as a way of dealing with restricted funding. But in some cases, directors can benefit from imposing restrictions on themselves.
- 1/17/2012
- by Alison Frank
- The Moving Arts Journal
The Sundance Film Festival will begin unveiling its 2012 lineup on Wednesday, and it's going to take several days to get it all out there. At Ioncinema, Eric Lavallee has put together a package of 80 previews of films he predicts will be premiering in Park City. One page per film, so this is a holiday weekend sort of browse. The image above, by the way, is from So Yong Kim's For Ellen, #19 on the list, featuring Paul Dano, Jena Malone and Jon Heder.
Somewhat related is Michael Tully's "2012 Indie Cinema Preview" at Hammer to Nail, a simple list of filmmakers and titles.
More lists. The Philadelphia Weekly's Sean Burns and Matt Prigge present a "highly subjective list" of the top 50 films ever.
For Time, Wook Kim writes up and finds clips for a list of the "Top 10 Thanksgiving Movie Scenes."
Awards. The Screen Actors Guild Awards won't be handed...
Somewhat related is Michael Tully's "2012 Indie Cinema Preview" at Hammer to Nail, a simple list of filmmakers and titles.
More lists. The Philadelphia Weekly's Sean Burns and Matt Prigge present a "highly subjective list" of the top 50 films ever.
For Time, Wook Kim writes up and finds clips for a list of the "Top 10 Thanksgiving Movie Scenes."
Awards. The Screen Actors Guild Awards won't be handed...
- 11/24/2011
- MUBI
To mark the Blu-ray and DVD release of Matt Damon and Emily Blunt’s new thriller The Adjustment Bureau, on July 4th, we’ve taken a look at the films influenced by sci-fi writer Phillip K. Dick, whose short story Adjustment Team inspired this film. Dick, for those that don’t know, is a legendary cult short story writer and novelist whose imaginative and unique narratives have inspired numerous feature films and attracted some of Hollywood’s most prominent directors including Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg and John Woo…
The Adjustment Bureau
David Norris (Matt Damon) is a young charismatic politician who is destined for greatness but when he has a chance encounter with dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) he instantly falls for her and veers off his pre-determined path. The adjustment team must step in to make a “correction“ and put David back on a course that will mean he...
The Adjustment Bureau
David Norris (Matt Damon) is a young charismatic politician who is destined for greatness but when he has a chance encounter with dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) he instantly falls for her and veers off his pre-determined path. The adjustment team must step in to make a “correction“ and put David back on a course that will mean he...
- 6/28/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
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