Father and Daughter

The film is a story about a father and his daughter, mainly about the daughter. When she is a child, I don't know why, she is left by her father. And leaving her, he goes far by rowboat. Later, she always comes to the river where he left and looks for him, but she can't find him. Finally, she becomes an old woman, and then...

I like this film for two reasons. The first reason is its background music. It is like a waltz. I like a waltz, so I like the music too. In addition to this, the music of each part of this film matches the mood of and represents her emotions.

The second reason is its imagery. The image is mostly a shadow picture. It makes me a little sad, but it is very artistic.

I am not surprised that this film won the 2000 Academy Award for Animated Short Film. Its music and imagery are perfectly sophisticated. It's beautiful and artistic. And its story, the father and his daughter's love for each other, is very moving. I like this film so much that I watched it many times. I'd like you to watch this film with someone who you love.

In my view, this piece is the equal to The Man Who Planted Trees (which is high praise indeed) and it should be in print and widely available. Sadly, all too many short animated pieces are not in print (or even seen, these days) and this reality will not be altered any time soon, I'm afraid. End of sermon.

Father and Daughter is simply breathtaking. The whole package-music, backgrounds, animation, story-everything is excellent, with nary a misstep. Basic themes repeat throughout and the attention to detail is extraordinary! Particularly watch toward the end, the shadows and the interaction of movement. That this won the Academy Award and deserved to is an understatement. There were three exceptional nominees, all of which is a testament to the committee overseeing the shorts nomination process. So far as I'm aware, only one (Rejected) is in print. I saw Father and Daughter on The Sundance Channel, as part of Shorts Program 103. Most highly recommended.

There is a man who had a young daughter. He went, leaving her. She believed that he would certainly come back, so she continued to go to the place parted from him.

I was sad and painful. Because daughter went to place parted from her father, but her wish wasn't fulfilled. She grew up and the lake disappeared. This part and film's music made me sad. Perhaps, without music I couldn't feel painfulness.

I have two mysterious points. First, why do they use bicycle? They used bell of bicycle instead of saying words. Whether it rained or the wind blew, she used bicycle. I think that it is necessary to use bicycle. Second, why do writer not draw people's face? If the writer drew people's face, I would understand this film better.

I think so, this film is wonderful. Because this film impressed me without dialogue and people's expression. Last scene made my heart tight. I became that it is likely to tear.

Father and Daughter is a perfect piece of animation film-making. People 'worry' that it won't be seen, but we have postings here from Germany, Scotland, USA... Here in Japan, the film got a theatrical release, the shortest movie ever to achieve that in Japan. I have been screening it to film students for three years, and in this year's class one student had seen it already. This film takes one traumatic event in the life of a young woman and focuses on it to the exclusion of all others. It doesn't reduce her life to that single motif - the film acknowledges that a fuller life is lived off-screen, as her family accompanying her in several scenes implies. Some filmmakers will work their whole careers and never have their audience achieve the level of catharsis in Father and Daughter. Quite simply breathtaking in its economy and elegance.

This short film apparently took 8 years to make and it shows.

I saw it as part of an arts degree programme at NEWI, Wrexham where it was used to demonstrate to the Level 1 audience what empathy (the subject of the next essay) could be.

The artwork shows what can be achieved with the utmost economy of line, no massive Disney or Pixar art work here. It is truly incredible the depth of emotion that such an apparently very simple, short film can bring out. It certainly made the 'empathy' point, I defy anybody with any kind of normal human feelings not to be moved by this film.

I heartily recommend this film if you can get to see it.