Away (Gints Zilbalodis)

[Philip J. Fry]

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[Philip J. Fry]

You know the old adage of "sometimes less is more"? I feel this movie has this in spades.

While the trope about someone getting trapped in a mysterious island has been for the most part done to death, the execution is great. The fact that is completely wordless and very sparse with sound and music in general (imagine it as if The Red Turtle had been done by Genndy Tartakovsky with almost zero budget) gives it a very uneasy feeling. The island has nothing, but a few scarse animals and while there are hints that there were humans before (there are several ancient stone buildings, the wreckage of a plane and an old skeleton), it feels as it there hadn't been traces for a long time, almost giving the film a post-apocalyptic and unsettling vibe, all while there's some sort of dark spirit lurking behind, all while this kid has no choice, but to move forward. However, along the way we are threated to some gorgeous landscapes (despite the very low-budget animation), again, almost giving it a Tartakovsky vibe.

The fact that this film was entirely made by Zilbalodis (he directed, made the animation and the music) makes it feel all the more impressive. Good flick.