Blind Vaysha

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 animated short immediately draws the viewer in with its captivating and mesmerizing tale. The storytelling and visual artistry on display are impressive, keeping the audience enthralled from start to finish.

The story builds a remarkable climax, but the ending falls. Opting an ordinary conclusion rather than an extraordinary finale to match the brilliance preceding it is disappointng. This leaves a tinge of disappointment at the film's close.

Nonetheless, with its engaging originality and stunning visuals, the short remains a laudable artistic achievement that leaves a lasting impression.

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!

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.

I think this is possibly the most accurate cinematic depiction of that Shakespearian adage "...this way madness lies..." that I've seen. The eponymous girl is born with perfect 20/20 vision. The thing is - the first 20 can only see into the past, the other into the future. She cannot see her present nor can she choose the subject matter of what she does see. Perhaps she could just shut one eye? Is it better to have the certainly of the past or is it better to anticipate the excitement of the future? Maybe it is better just to close both eyes? I loved the style of animation here - it reminded me a little at the start of Gauguin's brushwork, and the philosophy of the choices she faces is presented to us by way of a little audience participation at the conclusion that does make one think. It's an intriguing eight minutes worth a look.