Harvie Krumpet (2003) Writer/director Adam Elliot’s stop-motion-animated short film introduces us to the bittersweet world of Harvie Krumpet, a Polish immigrant with Tourette’s Syndrome living in Australia (Geoffrey Rush provides the droll narration). Like many of Elliot’s other films, it’s a celebration of the outsider and their uniquely skewed perspective. Despite his struggles connecting with others, Harvie manages to carve his own niche in society. This brief but affecting portrait pushes all the right buttons, and is well worth a look (or two or three).
Rating: ****.
Available on Blu-ray (included in The Adam Elliot Collection), DVD, Kanopy and
Tubi
The Tune (1992) Bill Plympton’s musical film celebrates the creative process as it intersects and clashes with commercialism. When he experiences the songwriter’s version of writer’s block, Del journeys to the musical town of Flooby Nooby to find inspiration and learn to sing from the heart. Plympton’s unique hand-drawn animation, takes the viewer in unexpected directions, with byzantine gags that build on each other. Will Del find his inspiration in time to please his demanding boss, and win the woman of his dreams? Watch and find out.
Rating: ****. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Tubi
Blood Tea and Red String (2006) Christiane Cegavske’s exquisitely detailed stop-motion-animated film plays like a waking dream, skirting the barriers of consciousness. A group of birdlike people clash with mice over a life-size doll, while a frog shaman works his special brand of conjuring. Blood Tea and Red String uses fairy tale tropes to tell its unique story about infatuation, greed and togetherness.
Rating: ***½.
Available on
Phantom Boy (2015) Alex, an 11-year-old boy undergoing chemotherapy, becomes an unlikely partner for an injured police detective when he discovers the ability to leave his body. When a super criminal vows to take control of New York City, Alex scours the streets for clues that might break the case. Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol’s French-animated feature is about summoning your inner strength, even when you feel powerless.
Rating: ***½.
Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Kanopy
The Murder Case of Hana and Alice (2015) After her parents’ divorce, Tetsuko Arisugawa (“Alice”) moves to a small town with her mother. As the new kid at her middle school, she arrives to a mystery, under the watchful eye of a shut-in former student, Hana. Shunji Iwai’s gentle tale of friendship separates myth from reality, as Alice contends with bullying classmates and reticent locals to learn the truth about a classmate’s alleged death.
Rating: ***½. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Tubi
Bubble Bath (aka: Habfürdö) (1980) In this fun, if slight, Hungarian musical oddity, Zsolt gets cold feet over his impending marriage to Klára, taking refuge in his friend Anna’s apartment. Complications ensue when Klára pays Anna a visit, and memories and feelings are brought to the surface. Will Zsolt marry the capricious Klára or run off with amiable Anna? Looking a bit like a lost sequel to Yellow Submarine, Bubble Bath features silly songs and hallucinogenic animation that makes me wonder what kind of substances they were smuggling behind the Iron Curtain during that time.
Rating: ***.
Available on Blu-ray and Tubi
