Okay. So this is the type of movie that illicits a lot of reactions from a lot of people, but for me is almost impossibly good. At this point Barta has obviously gotten his craft down to a tee, and no more realistic movement of puppets could be created than this. But "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" is also impossibly detailed in ways that are stunning, compelling, and in a way terrifying. In very rare cases, I see movies that are so well done that I almost feel like they shouldn't exist as a Greek myth-style affront to the gods. This is one of those cases, where anybody even remotely familiar with how much work goes into making something like this is promised to be absolutely dazzled out of their wits.
That's not to say that you need any familiarity with animation to be impressed with this movie. The woodcuts, perspectives, and movements are like Escher in movement; the story is haunting and disturbing; and the atmosphere--Oh GOD the atmosphere!--is the stuff that creeps into and out of bad dreams. Most of it is the detail in the imagery, but the music is very instrumental to the effect. And Barta, familiar with multiple styles of animation as he is, understands also to keep the dialog down to nonsense syllables and screechings in order that any viewer can understand the story simply on the power of its visuals.
This movie is largely about the evils of greed in industrialization. The first quarter of the movie is about the development of a town from hard-working home-builders to over-institutionalized, locked-doors scared, hoarding, unhappy, angry people whose lack of real empathy and social value leads to an infestation of rats. Many people are familiar with the fairy-tale on which this movie is based, so describing the rest of the plot would be redundant, but for the care to mention that the Pied Piper's revenge upon the townsfolks' ignorance and greed is an unforgettable vengeance tale almost beyond imagining. This ain't your childhood fairy tale.
This movie has it all, really. Stunning art, superb animation, great storytelling, foreboding atmosphere, dramatically compelling music, an important message, and a unique vision. It not only stands out in Barta's career, it stands out from cinema as a whole. Truly a movie you must see before you die.
--PolarisDiB
That's not to say that you need any familiarity with animation to be impressed with this movie. The woodcuts, perspectives, and movements are like Escher in movement; the story is haunting and disturbing; and the atmosphere--Oh GOD the atmosphere!--is the stuff that creeps into and out of bad dreams. Most of it is the detail in the imagery, but the music is very instrumental to the effect. And Barta, familiar with multiple styles of animation as he is, understands also to keep the dialog down to nonsense syllables and screechings in order that any viewer can understand the story simply on the power of its visuals.
This movie is largely about the evils of greed in industrialization. The first quarter of the movie is about the development of a town from hard-working home-builders to over-institutionalized, locked-doors scared, hoarding, unhappy, angry people whose lack of real empathy and social value leads to an infestation of rats. Many people are familiar with the fairy-tale on which this movie is based, so describing the rest of the plot would be redundant, but for the care to mention that the Pied Piper's revenge upon the townsfolks' ignorance and greed is an unforgettable vengeance tale almost beyond imagining. This ain't your childhood fairy tale.
This movie has it all, really. Stunning art, superb animation, great storytelling, foreboding atmosphere, dramatically compelling music, an important message, and a unique vision. It not only stands out in Barta's career, it stands out from cinema as a whole. Truly a movie you must see before you die.
--PolarisDiB