Anima

1st watched 12/06/2001 - 8 out of 10(Dir-Craig Richardson): Very interesting narrative about a couple of documentary filmmakers who begin to make a movie on taxidermists, but then run across a nazi war criminal who is a legendary taxidermist who is living in a secluded country home with his wife(as well as stuffed & living loved pets). It's interesting to keep watching this movie despite it's slow pace because you become further and further involved in the story each step of the way. The movie is about many things; the love between the old man and his wife and how it endured, the cutthroat style of the filmmakers trying to get all they could for money, the simplistic yet full lifestyle of the couple as they kept busy with taxidermy, as well as creating a play with dolls just for their own healing(to recreate their experiences with the nazi's in Germany) and the filmmaker's mysterious style where we as the viewer keep wondering where it's going to lead us. The only real downfall in my opinion is the humorous accounts of other taxidermist's which kind of take us away from the serious story that was mentioned previously. There is a website that labeled this as a horror film which it is not. This is a serious drama about life & death which questions us about how it should be pursued. Bravo that this layed-back independent film is found on DVD(It should be preserved for awhile and watched by many)!!

Intricately made, heartbreaking, mesmerizing. A quiet film, with powerful haunting undercurrents of holocaust nightmares. A sophisticated mystery involving intense love and dark journeys. A beautiful film with a mesmerizing soundtrack and images which remained with me for months afterwards.

I enjoyed watching this film even though my anticipation for what might come next was usually met with mild disappointment. The film is worth seeing definitely but some facets of it did get tiresome. The pacing was slow and while that is not a bad thing at all, the buildup at times was a bit of a let down. A mild touch of film school artiness led to some irritation or maybe I'm just stupid. I really enjoyed the marionette angle and the overall concept but could have done with a more clear telling of the story. In conclusion a good film, worth the viewing.