This short film was created by Absolute Vodka (the brand that told me I hated vodka until a trip to Russia showed me how it should be) and had a narrative that was partly guided by input from their followers on Twitter and other such social media sites. The story is set in a noir world where a typically grizzled and tired private detective takes a case from an old man, to seek out a woman who stole his ideas through her controls of daemons. The case takes the man into the dark but yet colourful world of creative shapes and figures.
Regardless of how much or little the viewers influenced the narrative, it is a so-so story which leans heavily on the conventions of film noir – or rather the concentrated version which makes up modern versions such as Sin City and the like. The story needs an ending so it gets it but the strongest aspect of the film is the animation. As our main character can see the world of ideas as colourful and many shaped daemons, we get a situation where the film is split into a very realistically animated "real" world and the unseen visions of ideas – sort of like Roger Rabbit except all animated. This works very well visually because the animated real world is glossy in its darkness and neon-lit despair; okay it is not totally original in its design, but it does it very well. This contrasts very nicely with the much more cartoony world of ideas, which includes characters frighteningly imposing but also colourful and odd – basically they are very creatively designed, which is the point of them.
The film perhaps leans too much on the style of the genre and the animation, but in doing this it does produce a film that works pretty well as a slice of creative noir and an animation. I'm still not drinking Absolute's vodka but in the case of this film they made something good.
Regardless of how much or little the viewers influenced the narrative, it is a so-so story which leans heavily on the conventions of film noir – or rather the concentrated version which makes up modern versions such as Sin City and the like. The story needs an ending so it gets it but the strongest aspect of the film is the animation. As our main character can see the world of ideas as colourful and many shaped daemons, we get a situation where the film is split into a very realistically animated "real" world and the unseen visions of ideas – sort of like Roger Rabbit except all animated. This works very well visually because the animated real world is glossy in its darkness and neon-lit despair; okay it is not totally original in its design, but it does it very well. This contrasts very nicely with the much more cartoony world of ideas, which includes characters frighteningly imposing but also colourful and odd – basically they are very creatively designed, which is the point of them.
The film perhaps leans too much on the style of the genre and the animation, but in doing this it does produce a film that works pretty well as a slice of creative noir and an animation. I'm still not drinking Absolute's vodka but in the case of this film they made something good.
