The Meaning of Life

There's nothing to this short film. I like Don Hertzfeldt's other works so I was baffled and disappointed by this one. It shows a lot of imaginative life forms which might suit a bored artist's flipbook but as an actual film I got nothing out of it and found no meaning in it.

If one is willing to look into this without a one minute attention span, you will find yourself in there. You may not like what you see, but it's there. We are taken from the beginnings of life and brought through the development of civilization on Earth and then beyond that. Excellent storytelling in the simplest yet esoteric way possible.

This is one of the animated shorts from THE ANIMATION SHOW: VOLUME 2. Most of the shorts in this DVD collection are rather poor because very few are funny and the emphasis is much more or art than entertainment in this second installment. For better films overall, see VOLUME 1.

In VOLUME 1, Don Hertzfeldt's animations were among the best additions to the compilation. Not only that, but they were scattered throughout the film. Here in the second collection, they only appear at the very end. Plus, I hate to be critical, but this was among the poorest of his films I have seen. While the cartoon is creative, it is NOT sadistic or funny--something lovers of his work really expect. Sadly, apart from the lovely classical music, I wasn't particularly happy while watching this one.

I'll give it that. Previously I'd only seen "Rejected" which nearly everyone has seen and likes. So when this came to town I was expecting something along those lines. The beginning is particularly intense with the hundreds of people walking and talking over each other alongside the Tchaichovsky music (and took 2 years to do!!). Also the creatures evolving into one another were very creative.

But I've heard and seen this all before - life is essentially meaningless hence the absurdity and pointlessness of the film. And of course there are people who do not believe this but it completely ignores that point of view.

Fortunately the film is short and has a great score and visual element but it does feel like it drags after the aliens explain the meaning of life (which of course we can't understand) since it pulls out into the galaxy and then nothing else happens for the last few minutes.

A lot of people at the screening seemed annoyed and frustrated as they watched this. Maybe they expected to find the meaning (they are idiots if that's the case) but I think they were like OK we get it.

If I were to recommend a Hertzfeld film for a person who hadn't seen his work I wouldn't use this one as a starter. If I were to recommend a Meaning of Life film I would definitely use Monty Python's 2 hour long version which is hilarious and is more about the life cycle and has a rather clever ending.

Not a bad film but you might find yourself checking your watch once or twice towards the end.

7/10

An astonishing film with ideas that could not be expressed in any other way than animation. In simplest terms, THE MEANING OF LIFE views life develop on Earth from simple creatures to humankind to the further evolved mutants that arise following our extinction.

But there's a wealth of passionate ideas going on under the surface that are hard to verbalize. When the music and animation kicks in at those key moments, you just understand entirely through pure feeling what Hertzfeldt's communicating - and that's what Art is all about.

Trying to intellectualize and dissect a piece like this is like trying to scientifically quantify the beauty of a painting of flowers! You either "get" the painting because it hits the right chord with you, or you don't. I found the film totally lacking in pretension and very simple, like such a painting. Maybe it's just beautiful and meant to be enjoyed.

There are fans of Don Hertzfeldt's work and then there are fans of REJECTED. Anyone curious to see Hertzfeldt continue to grow while challenging and pushing the envelope of indie animation should not miss this short. Fans of REJECTED who're expecting more of the same maybe need not apply.

On the other hand, I disagree with the confused reviews about how MEANING isn't like his other work (that is, his "earlier, funny movies" ...shades of STARDUST MEMORIES?). Hertzfeldtian surrealism, existentialism, and - most importantly - his toying with audience expectations are all here. He pulled the rug out from under us during BILLY'S BALLOON and REJECTED, and now that we're expecting the same thing, he masterfully pulls the rug out again.