Modest Heroes

The core concept behind this movie is sweet, wonderful and touching. There are small things in everyday life that takes a great deal of courage and fortitude. There are "modest heroes" out there who deserves our recognition and I'm sure that we all know quite a few of them. Unfortunately, the three stories told here struggle to do justice to this idea. They range from meh to sort of ok-ish. On top of that, the music and the animation are often just too weak to support the narrative ambitions of this title. There are a couple of good ideas here and there, but the of lack pathos, weight and artistic direction results in a mediocre rendering of those ideas.

In their little nature, these segments reveal a simple, but no less deep and entertaining.

KANINO AND KANINI: The most intriguing aspect was surely the world-building, which kinda reminded me of ARIETTY, from Studio Ghibli.

I also appreciated how they used just that invented language, but managing to still make everything understandable and sweet.

I almost wish we could see a full movie out of it, let's hope Yonebayashi will eventually consider doing it XD

LIFE AIN'T GONNA LOSE: I'm pretty sure this will be the most relatable to many people.

Even I was touched in a kinda personal way, because even my mother suffers from allergies, although thankfully she never went into serious troubles because of it.

But I really enjoyed the realism of Shun's frustration, and the way his mother is constantly worried about him.

I could perfectly sense the pain, both physical and spiritual, and that's no easy task, in animation.

I think it's something it should be showed to everyone, kids and adults alike

INVISIBLE: The darkest of the three, though not in a too heavy way.

The idea is not fully original, given how the metaphor of "invisibility" to show the alienation from society has been used many times in books, movies and comic books.

But despite that, here it is shown in a very spectacular and effective way thanks to the animation and the visuals, almost like a live-action, like only Japanese animes can do.

The way the body transmits all the necessary feelings without any of it is just amazing and, again, full of true pain, it deserves all the appreciation it can get.

Not going to lie, all the other user reviews infuriated me. They claim that the animation is great but the story is non-existent. This is just false, since all stories have great stories AND incredible animation.

This film contains three different stories, one about a family of tiny people living under the water, one about a mother and his child who suffers from a severe food allergy, and one story of an invisible man who's overlooked by everyone.

These stories all have different feels to them and even different artstyles.

I definitely recommend watching it, since it showcases beautiful animation and heartwarming stories.

Modest Heroes is an anthology movie. The first segment is about tiny little crab people or something. Two crab people lose their father and have to find him. For some reason, it drove me nuts. I hated how there was dialogue, but the characters only ever said each other's names or grunted/laughed/used other non-words. It was just something on a gut level that made me unjustifiably angry. I wish they'd either talked properly or said nothing at all. It looked nice visually but the no man's land when it came to communication bothered me non-stop.

The second film is a lot more grounded and moves away from fantasy. It's about a young boy who's allergic to eggs, and looks at the stresses of raising a kid who could well die if they're exposed to something they shouldn't eat. It sort of works emotionally, but the way it escalates at the end felt a bit contrived. I didn't entirely buy it. Maybe shortcuts have to be taken for some short stories to work, but eh(gg).

The third film gets fantastical again, being about an invisible man who finds himself becoming even more invisible, losing his grip on the world and becoming less able to interact with it. It's easily the most visually engaging of the three, and I think it has the most interesting premise, too. It's definitely a highlight and saves Modest Heroes somewhat. To consider it as one whole, it's not bad for something that's just an hour long and the presentation is strong, but the storytelling - outside that final short - is kind of lacklustre.

This film is divided into estentailly four parts: three short films and an interview by one of the directors/producers.

The first two short films were good and the last short was great. The films seemed to be set up from the worst to the best.

The first short film, "Kanini & Kanino" was my least favorite out of the bunch. It revolves around two humanoid water creatures going on a dangerous journey to save their father. Now in this film, the use of CGI looked a bit odd with the 2D animation and the story felt a little inconsequential, mainly due to the short run time. This short wants to be a full length film and feels like a promo for one. Besides the negatives, the audio is done pretty nicely and the lack of verbal dialogue between characters makes for an interesting viewing experience.

The second short film, "Life Ain't Gonna Lose" is my second favorite short. It revolves around a mother and her son trying to live with the son's deadly food allergy. This film, like the previous, wanted to be a full length film. Also, some of the foreshadowing was a bit odd (pidgeon scene). Besides that, the short was good. The characters are really empathetic and the visuals are fantastic with a nice water color look to them.

The last film "Invisible" was fantastic. This film is about a lonely man, who is possibly invisible and weightless that must find a way to get out of that lonely state. Unlike the other shorts, it felt like it was made to be a short film. The visuals, cinematography, and animation were fantastic. The story was by far the most interesting out of the bunch as well.

The last segment of the film was a interview with one of the directors/producers. He discussed the creation, themes, length, and reason for making these shorts. Even though this was a bit odd compared to the rest of the film, it was rather insitful.

The only other issue and the main issue with the film is the length. It's only 53 minutes long! What you have to consider is if only three shorts are worth a full ticket price? It is sad because the prestigious Isao Takahata was going to direct a fourth short, but due to his passing they were limited to three shorts.

I had an all around good experience. I recommend watching and buying these short films. The general lack of recognition compared to their full length counterparts is really saddening. To buy this film is to not just support the foreign film and anime industry, but to also support the short film medium.