Exordium

"Exordium" is a short about a winter warrior on a quest to save his people, who must face a champion at the gate of ancient ruins. Momentous events and a strew of dead bodies lead up to this encounter. It is a hugely evocative piece that seems to plunder happily from the best parts of the science fiction and fantasy canon, all within a compact running time. On the science fiction front, it recalls elements of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the Strugatsky Brothers' "Hard to Be a God". On the fantasy front, the 1980s "Conan" films, William Morris' "The Well at the World's End", and Václav Svankmajer's short "Svetlonos" come to mind. Animation-wise, it harks back to "Fire and Ice".

Around the turn of the 19th century, William Blake painted "Elohim Creating Adam", a work that, like many people, I have on my wall. The question posed by the painting is a huge 'why?'-why do we exist, what is the greater plan, will we ever understand it, or are we merely victims, crushed under the juggernaut of a fate far beyond our comprehension? In the painting, Adam wears a look of disbelief and woe. This enormous 'why?' is the central theme of "Exordium". If beings greater than us exist, why do they stand by without intervening? As the Strugatskys suggest in "Hard to Be a God", guiding or intervening in less advanced civilisations can be as futile as herding cats-a fool's errand.

In "Exordium", these many influences blend seamlessly, creating a short that brims with dread, wonder, and a haunting sense of 'why?'

In a similar way to "Mongrel & The Wrath of the Ape King" (A short not registered on IMDb), "Exordium" is a modern tribute to traditional rotoscoping films (Fire & Ice, in particular)

Exordium does a good use of rotoscoping for its dark fantasy plot, I hope to see more stuff from Morgan Galen King in the future.

In a few short minutes, and with barely a word spoken, Exordium asks hard questions. The fantastical setting is the perfect fit for the timelessness of the story told. Unconventional? For sure. Memorable? Absolutely. This is simply one of my favorite films.