Tout rien (1980)

Director:

Frédéric Back

Writer:

Frédéric Back (scenario)

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

reference to god | greed | creation

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Genres:

Animation | Short

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Details

Country:

Canada

Release Date:

23 September 1992 (France)

Also Known As:

All Nothing

Company Credits

Production Co:

Société Radio-Canada

Technical Specs

Runtime:

11 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A very good short that has the seeds for two great ones planted within its fertile soil (SPOILERS)

All Nothing was Frédérîc Back's first Academy Award nominee and is a very good short which might be more highly regarded if Back had not gone on to make both The Man Who Planted Trees and The Mighty River, the early genesis of which can be seen in All Nothing, as well as Crac!, one of two Academy Award winners for Back (the other being Man Who Planted Trees). Thus, three great animated shorts make a highly intelligent and thought provoking short disappear somewhat into the background. In print and available on A Tribute To Frédéric Back I cannot talk at all about the short itself without getting into specifics and I want to discuss it for various reasons, so the comment from the next paragraph on will contain spoilers.

This is all subjective and other viewers may not see it the same, but I was fascinated by the fact that the short shows a creator who, in effect, incorporates evolution into the design for the planet. There are many examples of this, such as birds changing into other species of birds and other animals changing form and appearance, but the most profound use is on the humans, who go through stages-first form to aquatic, then to hairy primates, then avian life and finally to man. Interestingly, in the latter stages, man is also seen as grumbling, complaining and obnoxious. Man then becomes the extreme predator, to the creator's dismay and later anger. Man the predator then kills the creator and proceeds to do whatever he likes to the planet and other life on it without thought or consideration. At the end, man is no more satisfied and is just as empty and unhappy as before, until a final reconciliation occurs, Most recommended.