Prologue

Prologue (2015)

*** (out of 4)

Richard Williams bizarre animated short managed to pick up an Oscar nomination and it's somewhat hard to believe considering how violent and gory the picture is. The film takes place over two thousand years ago as Spartan and Athenian fighters do battle to the death.

It seems that reviews are rather mixed on this one and it's easy to see why. The film contains some full frontal nudity, graphic violence and some gore, which will certainly have your eyes wide open but at the same time I guess this might be too much for some even in an animated form. For the most part I thought the six minutes went by fast and I'd argue that the animation itself was quite good. There's really no story to speak of but just violent battle sequences with blood flowing.

The animation was exellent, I give it a 8 stars because as a person who is into historical reenacment I found some pieces historically innacurate with the way figures fought and were equipt but this can be forgiven because this animation shows 4 skirmishers not hoplites. The negative reviews I have seen so far are a testiment to human deniel and misinformation/lack of infomation. The animation has a story, it's the Peloponissian war, a war that happened not a fantastic event that most of your might think. It potrays perfectly the gruesomeness of such combat instead of making it look like a hero movie like most pieces of modern cinema do. For all those who review this movie negatively and actaully think what they are waching is just two guys killing each other for just cause then you have nothing more to do but to simply open a history book to realise this doesn't just have a story but it's a recreation of a real moment in human history.

First of all, anyone who watches this can easily see why parents were advised to remove their children from the theater before it was presented.

The animation is -- STUNNINGLY Beautiful! I can see why another reviewer mistook the story as an tiny war, but I felt it was depicting Athens/Sparta.

The story is pointlessly grim and violent. As an aside, I doubt any man would find it comfortable to fight without at least underwear, if not shorts on. The dangling genitalia was unnecessary to the story, I cannot see one reason it was done.

What is it supposed to be? Is it supposed to speak to the violence and loss of war? Is that something our world doesn't understand, hence a need to waste the (considerable) effort of the artist on? No.

The entire time I was watching it I was frustrated by the wasted talent. He should find a new writer give him a story worthy of his work.

War is hell and it always has been. I think that sometimes when animation is used, it is thought to be cartoon-like in the kindest sense. So when the realities of face to face battle are portrayed we seem to believe that we've somehow been betrayed by the filmmaker. There are no winners here, only the slaughter of our opponents and the end is meaningless. The face of he child and the old woman, wonderfully portrayed, are what should be etched in our memories. There is nothing clean about war and this shows it in spades.

'PROLOGUE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A 6 minute British animated short film; about a gruesome battle, between Spartan and Athenian warriors (2,400 years ago), as seen through the eyes of a young girl. The short is extremely violent, and it also contains full frontal (animated) male nudity. It was directed, and animated, by Richard Williams; and it was produced by Imogen Sutton (Williams' wife). The battle scene is really well done; brilliantly animated and very realistic looking. There's not a lot to the movie, other than that though; a little girl sees it, and she's heartbroken by it. The animation is extremely impressive; but it's my least favorite, of this year's Academy Award nominated animated shorts.

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/b_aLk3J5gh4