The Deep

Adam Pesapane (otherwise known as 'PES') is an incredibly talented and strange stop-motion animator. He only uses common household items and makes them appear to be entirely different creatures...living creatures. In "The Deep", he takes mostly tools (as well as an old fashioned metal mesh purse among other things) and makes them appear to be sea creatures. It's all a bit creepy and weird...but also very cool. You can't stop watching it and I strongly recommend it. HOWEVER, as much as I love his films, I can't rate them much higher because they are so brief. This one is only a bit more than a minute and a half long--and just when you are starting to love it, it's over! Still, it's worth seeing and I always look forward to more from him.

PES' shorts have a few things in common: the use of every-day life objects and products, the presence of a vintage-naive feeling in all of them, a great sense of humour and winks to the viewer, and their shortness.

This is my favorite shorts by PES. It is not bright, it is not "foodie", it is not funny. The film is set in a deep abyssal world of fish. It is very atmospheric, with great sound, lighting, coloring and ambiance. The way PES uses old tools to create the fish is marvelous, fluid and natural; for a second one forgets that those are real tools and believes they are rare deep-water fish.

Unlike other shorts of PES, in which something happens, there is a beginning and an end, and not further exploration is necessary, this one had many possibilities to develop a story and a narrative beyond what we see. I found this short too short. It is a pity that PES decided to stop at the two-minute mark instead of going on, transcend the immediacy of the now, and create a more complex narrative.

Simple stop-animation, but excellent inventive and talent.