Opal

This short film is perhaps one of the greatest works of 2020, and maybe the last ten years. The genius storytelling, the intertwining stories and characters, the underlying messages - I can't fit it all into one review, but "Opal" is stunning.

I just got HBO Max and discovered that they have a bunch of Adult Swim programs, which I haven't had the joy of watching for close to a decade. I came across Jack Stauber's Opal, and it is a true gem! The Claymation, music, and overall ambiance makes this one of the creepiest, yet most beautiful shorts I have ever seen! Whenever I watch a film with stop motion animation or any other type of unusual media, I assess its effectiveness according to how well it does at tricking my brain into thinking I am growing delirious from fever (This goes back to the stuff I would watch as a sickly child). Wallace and Gromit, Gumby, The Year Without a Santa Claus, and Fraggle Rock all give me this delirious, yet comforting, feeling. Opal is the first film I have seen in the last decade that has given me such an eerie and nostalgic feeling. It is as if Gumby and his friends ate an entire sheet of acid, and we get to ride along to witness their experience. This film is truly an amazing work of art.

Amazing short film. Very rewatchable. The short may seem confusing, but the ending explains it, leaving you satisfied and heartbroken. 10/10.

Wow, just, wow. This short is absolutely beautiful, emotional, and shocking. This is the kind of thing that people will look back on in 20 years and realize how beautiful and perfect it is. One of the most important things in a movie is to be able to watch it, and then want to watch again. There are not very many things that I wanted to rewatch more than Opal. I rewatched it like 4 times after I first saw it, and I wanted even more. I found videos about it, heard other people's opinions, and just wanted to see even more. The amount of details in this you will never be able to watch it enough to catch all of the details in the short. Jack Stauber is a genius, and this just proves it.

It's very dark and very beautiful at the same time. It truly made me feel conflicted in a way I can't full describe. The claymation is very well done and you can tell that a lot of love and probably a lot of sadness was put into this project.