We Are the Strange

I first saw a trailer of this movie while browsing on a independent movie/DVD website. I was fascinated by how it looked after reading that it had influences on Anime. The trailer said it was viewable on you-tube, so I went to the website to check it out.

The movie takes place inside a video game cartage, where the world is a grim dark video game world. There was a woman named Blue who was once a dancer for a vile man named Him. Him disowned Blue for not being attractive, and for having a strange condition that whenever she speaks she turns pix-elated, but if she remains silent she's not pix-elated. After being abused by Him, he tells her to get lost. Which Blue did as she ran away from the place that was considered home to her, but not anymore. She ran away from the city and ended up at a forest where she meets a lonely doll with the head of a baby doll. His name is eMMM and all he wants is Ice Cream and someone to be friends with. Blue wasn't too sure about eMMM, but eventually she gained his trust and they both decide to get ice cream. However their trip to get ice cream lead towards a dangerous adventure when they head for the city that's over run with monsters that were sent by Him himself.

After watching it, it became a new favorite of mine. Not only was it a well done independent animated film. It was also fascinating on how the director throw in various parodies of video games & anime. The main heroine Blue is one of the reasons I liked it a lot.

This movie is really strange, and it was created by a independent filmmaker who likes to do movies his own way. So it's not a movie made for everyone. In my opinion it's highly watchable if you like movies that have a Gothic/anime/video game theme to them.

You're able to watch the entire movie on Youtube, because the director wanted everyone to be able to watch the movie. If you like the movie, then there's a 2-dsic DVD which includes deleted scenes, alternate soundtracks, making of feature, & a commentary where you get to learn at least one new thing about the movie from the director himself.

It's not a well known movie to the public, but I'm sure within time, this movie will gain a large cult following like other movies do.

"We are the Strange" is a work of sheer originality, a rare gem in the microcinema movement, not only because of its technical audacity but also the complete freedom attained in it's narrative. The two main characters are a young girl with big blue eyes (visually reminiscent of anime) who escapes her pimp and a sad and scared little boy. More about the story I won't describe because words won't do justice.

It happens inside a video game.

This is very important. From the stylistical choices to the apparent lack of narrative, "We are the Strange" will most likely appeal to those born after 1970. There are direct references to multiple things, most notable I would describe as hybrid the 8-bit era of video gaming, stop motion, anime and 3D with a David Lynch logic. The end result is unlike anything I've seen. It's at times silly, beautiful, depressing, always imaginative and highly atmospheric. This is sensorial film-making. Yes there is a very simple story, but all that surrounds it, truly make the films. Now when so many independent filmmakers view Quentin Tarantino, and Robert Rodriguez as their heroes, its is refreshing to see a filmmaker using the digital tools not to emulate formulas and trends created by others, but to experiment all the way and successfully create something new.

Now the music is unlike anything I've heard on film. It usually instruments from 8-bit game consoles. It's a bizarre eerie, feeling.

No doubt we are witnessing a personal film in all respects, a voice that hasn't been modified, muted, toned down to suit a specific kind of audience. It is a scream of the senses, with no attempt whatsoever at logic. You'll be missing the point. You could say that it is style over substance. But what many people fail to acknowledge is that sometimes style itself can be substance.

The man responsible for this film is called "M. Dot Strange."

That kind of gives you a hint of what you are going to see - something very "strange."

Listen: you'll either think this is super cool and love this film, or you'll get so disgusted you'll yank it off your screen within minutes. Actually, I was somewhere toward the latter, but I lasted longer than a half hour before losing interest. I really tried to like this.

The good aspect of this film is the clever animation done on a low budget. This is an original film, that's for sure. The visuals and the sound are different and mostly interesting. You also have the option of hearing various soundtracks - now that's unique!

The bad part of the movie is that it's hard to watch much of it in one sitting. It gets to be too much and is weak in the area of getting the viewer involved with the characters and story. Very little of the story is explained, so you can get lost in a hurry and never recover. After a while, I found myself not caring what was happening and just attempted to enjoy the strange visuals and sound- effects.

The visuals are a combination of computer-generated, stop motion and bluescreen effects. It is also a combination, according to its writer-director- producer-etc, of 8-bit and anime. I'm not versed enough in all of this to explain it. I'm just trying to give you an idea how different this film is from other animated movies you've seen.

Also, it was first released on the Internet instead of movie theaters, I think, but did play in the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and the following year put out on DVD.

For the average movie viewer, this film would be torture to sit through. It would be a long hour-and-a-half. For someone who enjoys something different visually, this is a unique film that deserves a look and might prove to be fascinating, especially for some young person interested in becoming a filmmaker. I'm sure one could learn a lot of techniques and be inspired.

By far the weirdest movie I have ever seen. When M dot Strange was told to think outside the box, he overshot a little. He stepped out of the box, and punted it into the sea. At the screening at Sundance, M dot Strange said that he pretty much locked himself in his room with a bunch of broken toys, and nine computers. He stayed there for more than a year with only his frighteningly twisted imagination, and came out with this animation that is a mix between Stop-motion, Computer animation, 8 bit video game animation, and Japanese Anime. He calls it "Str8nime". The visuals are absolutely stunning. An electric-techno roller-coaster of a movie, with a soundtrack equally colorful. The imagination of M dot Strange is truly dark and wild.

enjoy, and hide your soul, because this film might try to take it.

CL

This movie is surreal; this movie is disturbing; this movie is fascinating. As a piece of cinema, it's terrible. Most audiences simply could not sit through something like this in a dark room with a big screen.

As art, I'd say this film is a success. It is extremely unique, and in it's own low-budget way very well done. I have never seen a film before this that combines such diverse graphic art into a visual whole. The visual and audio effects are rather hypnotizing, though not in a good way.

"We Are the Strange" is aptly named, and very hard to like. It is largely incohesive, though there is some semblance of plot. The images and sounds are fairly unpleasant, and after about ten minutes you get the first urges to turn it off. I appreciate this as a unique and powerful art film, but I don't find it entertaining.