Fiddle-de-dee

Fiddle-de-dee (1947)

*** (out of 4)

If you're not familiar with the animated work of Norman McLaren you should know that he's not going to be for everyone. I think some people could easily lose their mind watching his film but for the most part I've found them to be interesting and entertaining. This one here basically has all sorts of bizarre images playing out in front of our eyes. The best way to describe it is that we're given a square image and inside that image we get a wide range of uses of colors and shapes. McLaren was certainly an experimental filmmaker so I'm sure a hundred different people could watch this film and each of them would walk away with a different idea as to what it's about. I'm sure if you're tripping on LSD the film would be even more entertaining with its bizarre colors and images. Either way, the film is certainly well- made.

Experimental animated short by Norm McLaren. For 3 minutes, you have abstract forms going through the screen at high speed. Bright colors, shapes, all in accord with the fiddler's piece. All of that is somehow obnubilating. A lot of questions pop up in your head while watching, just like when you come across a strange abstract painting in a museum. At 3 minutes lenght, just experiment it for yourself. I guess it was interesting that much color on a big screen in 1947.

Seen at the Médiathèque of the National Film Board, in Toronto, on December 17th, 2004. I gave it 75 out of 100. That's good for **½ out of ****.