In a bar in the old west, a young man sits down opposite an older man; the air carries tension as the two talk and soon it becomes apparent that one of the men is Death and that the other, Fabiano, has come to challenge and defeat him.
Going by the plot summary this is an old story delivered in the genre style of the western, so we know what we are getting and indeed we do get that. The tone of the film is tough, with manly dialogue, sawdust on the floor and sudden violence eventually coming from the constant threat of it. It works as such but it is an old idea and the idea of one of them being Death doesn't change that too much. However although the end result is familiar, the manner of the telling really gives the whole thing spark and, as a result, makes the story quite gripping.
It is hard to describe but this short is told in a series of comic-book style stills. The transition between them is done manually by the animator so we see their hands in the frame as they sit at an old style table. Speech bubbles are in Portuguese (with subtitles) and although they are read by the two actors, they are on the pictures and small flaps are held open by a knife to reveal them in the right order. It is better to see it for yourself but it is very cleverly done – when a character reads a book, a book is put on the table and opened to reveal a still picture of the inside of the character's book, things like this. The pictures are really well drawn and deliver the genre feel and tone effectively – with close ups of eyes, guns etc, essentially the images are those which you may see in a detailed story board of a film scene, so it does play like a film.
It is a great short film; the story works well enough to recommend it, but the ideas and creativity in delivering it are really refreshing and engaging making it memorable and enjoyable.
Going by the plot summary this is an old story delivered in the genre style of the western, so we know what we are getting and indeed we do get that. The tone of the film is tough, with manly dialogue, sawdust on the floor and sudden violence eventually coming from the constant threat of it. It works as such but it is an old idea and the idea of one of them being Death doesn't change that too much. However although the end result is familiar, the manner of the telling really gives the whole thing spark and, as a result, makes the story quite gripping.
It is hard to describe but this short is told in a series of comic-book style stills. The transition between them is done manually by the animator so we see their hands in the frame as they sit at an old style table. Speech bubbles are in Portuguese (with subtitles) and although they are read by the two actors, they are on the pictures and small flaps are held open by a knife to reveal them in the right order. It is better to see it for yourself but it is very cleverly done – when a character reads a book, a book is put on the table and opened to reveal a still picture of the inside of the character's book, things like this. The pictures are really well drawn and deliver the genre feel and tone effectively – with close ups of eyes, guns etc, essentially the images are those which you may see in a detailed story board of a film scene, so it does play like a film.
It is a great short film; the story works well enough to recommend it, but the ideas and creativity in delivering it are really refreshing and engaging making it memorable and enjoyable.