In the Fall

This tiny little film shows a man, watering plants at the top of a skyscraper. He slips on a banana peel and falls off the building, with the help of a butterfly. As he tumbles to his death, his life is revealed to him. And once he knows what a waste it has been, well.......

They say that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes like a movie. This animated short film by Steve Cutts takes that idea literally and cleverly, telling the story of a man who slips to his death and is shown his life as a film by the birds of death.

But here's where it gets controversial: much of his life-like most of ours-is filled with work, work, and more work. He doesn't look happy, and honestly, few of us would spend our lives working so much if it weren't necessary to support our families. Yet, the film seems to suggest he's supposed to feel content-that he's "lived a good life." I'm not entirely sure how else to interpret it.

In any case, the 1920s cartoon-inspired visuals are striking. While relatively simple, they give the film a unique and powerful aesthetic that stands out in the world of modern animation.

Steve Cutts usually tends to deliver the message of his animations in a rather heavy-handed manner, but I always liked this particular short since I saw it by the first time included in the Off the Air episode "Falling".

It's a bit sad, but it is also very effective. And makes a very good use of its short length, managing to deliver a satisfying plot in less than two minutes.

Fun tidbit: The reason your life tends to flash before your eyes before you die is because your brain is desperately searching memories for a potential solution to the problem you're facing.