Vaysha, l'aveugle

I just came home from a wonderful screening of the Oscar nominated animated short films this year, and they all truly delighted me. However, this one was certainly the most impressive! The story is unique and powerful, it is both beautiful and surprisingly hopeless-and the simple yet breathtakingly effective way it is told is super refreshing! However, the main thing that this film has going for it is not its story nor its approach to said story, but its ANIMATION and, equally as important, its ATMOSPHERE. This is a creepy and melancholy little film that is beautifully and uniquely animated. This heavily stylized way of animation is perfect for this story and this atmosphere, it captures the darkness of its tone, its surprising sadness.

If you have a couple of minutes to spare, there is no better way to spend those minutes than by watching this brief and haunting gem.

This is one of two Canadian nominees (the other being Pear Cider and Cigarettes). It's sort of like a very, very dark modern fairy tale. It's a strange tale about a little girl born with two very strange eyes. Through one, she can only see the past and with the other she can only see the future. So, for example, when she sees an adult, they appear in one eye as a small child and in the other incredibly elderly and feeble. As to what all this means, well I was left wondering this when the film ended.

As far as the animation goes, you'll either love it or hate it and it strongly accentuated the darkness of the story. It certainly is NOT a pretty film to watch and many of the animations are a bit horrifying to watch. Like too many shorts this year, I did wonder why it was nominated as well as feeling a bit depressed after seeing it.

I think "Blind Vaysha" is very unlikely to take home the Oscar, as "Piper" is much more of a crowd pleaser and it s sweet little film...without the dark edges the other nominees all see to have in spades!

People nowadays are always looking at either a romanticized version of the past that exists only in their minds, or at a bleak and terrifying "What if?". But very few focus on the present, on its wonders and horrors, and try to make it a better place worth living in. "Do you look at the world with the eyes of Vaysha the blind?" We should learn to live in the present and to value every little thing.

I adore Georgi Gospodinov's works - not only his stories, but also his poetry and novels. Theodor Ushev has animated this story in such a brilliant and astonishing way and it is a pity that this movie did not won an Oscar. Kottarashky's incredible and extraordinary music makes the film even more touching and powerful.

This movie is a masterpiece with a very strong message.

This is an amazing story. It is unique. The issue is dark as a young girl is born with eyes where one sees the past and the other the future. Unfortunately, the future is always one of death and decay. There is no middle ground. This is so thought provoking and should not be judged in any other way. I found the animation appropriate to the themes, with sort of shadows and streaks dominating. It is depressing to know that there is little resolution.

Blind Vaysha (2016)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This short was nominated for Oscar's Best Animated Short and it's certainly much darker than the other nominees. This one here tells the story of Vaysha, a young girl who was born with two very different eyes. Her left eye can only see the past while her right eye can only see the future. This here puts her into a dilemma on how to live the rest of her life.

I'm not going to say BLIND VAYSHA was a bad movie but I didn't think it was worthy of an Oscar-nomination. It certainly wasn't better than the other nominated movies but at the same time I can respect it for trying to do something a tad bit different. This really plays out like a dark fairy tale and the animation is quite dark itself. I thought the film was visually impressive and the story had some interesting ideas but I just didn't think it ever really came to life. I also didn't care too much for the narration, which lasted throughout the picture.