Reviews & Ratings for
Le moine et le poisson More at IMDbPro »

9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Odd, energetic and engaging short with a perfect ending!, 12 October 2002

Author: Robert Reynolds (minniemato@hotmail.com) from Tucson AZ

This has got to be one of the oddest cartoons I've seen in my life! With little to no dialogue, the animation and background artwork have to carry this one and do so superbly. The action is engaging, if not almost hypnotic at times and there is a plot, though it takes a bit to catch on. The ending is simply perfect and follows logically from events that came before. Absolutely must be seen, as words cannot do justice to this one. Most highly recommended.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Inspirational and beautiful., 18 April 2006

Author: totenmaske0 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

From viewing this film, one can really read whatever they wish into the plot. A monk notices a fish swimming in the source of the monastery's water – with the lively animation we see the monk desperately trying to get the fish which climaxes in the final sense of journey in the last moments of this wonderful piece of animated art. A few viewings of this film, one can come away with a very symbolic journey of one's faith. Really a very powerful and beautiful work that opens the viewer to interpreting the film more deeply than what it presents on the surface.

For example you can take a small scene and read a lot of information within it: *Partial Spoiler* What one can construe from the scene where the other monks come by and not notice the fish even after the main character goes to such lengths as jumping about and what we perceive as exaggerated motions of the fish's existence – the fact that they cannot see the fish and ignore the monk, could suggest that the fish itself is a form of the monk's faith. Which would go to explain the later journey at the end of the film.

Overall very powerful, vibrant and beautiful work.

3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
The sound of one man fishing..., 9 January 2008

Author: acmelita (lita@acmefilmworks.com) from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Another beautiful journey brought to you by Academy Award winner, Michael Dudok de Wit. The chase, the frustration, the contemplation, the resignation all build to create this humorous tale.

It works on the simplistic level to amuse as you watch a monk try and try to catch a fish, reminiscent of Wily E. Coyote and his pursuit of the Road Runner (although in a completely different, much more mature artist style). But, c'mon, it's a monk, a man of the cloth, chasing a fish, a religious symbol of faith. The rhythm and pacing closely mirrors the traditional struggle of the questions of faith.

You can catch this DVD for five clams at www.Filmporium.com and net the other two shorts on the disc, "A Hunting Lesson" and "2D or Not 2D".

Watch it! (Easy enough to do, online), 24 March 2012

Author: rzajac from Dongshih, Taiwan

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A wonderful little comic/cosmic gem.

Saw this, way back when, on a Tournee reel. It uses good old roll-up-yr-sleeves & get-yr-hands-dirty hand-painted cel animation, set to a nicely arranged theme and variations based on a Corelli tune.

The comic part is the quaintly frenetic jumps and gyrations of a monk. It seems to communicate his dedication and passion to get to the bottom of... well, of a fish. The fish just won't let go of his imagination. It's his White Whale. It's his karma, his penance.

The cosmic part has to do with what happens in the end. I showed this to a bunch of university students in Taipei, and one student said, "The monk found peace." Amen, to that! One commenter here calls it a waste of time. A waste of 6 minutes? Not to imply that every moment of our lives isn't precious, but when I think of someone degrading this tender little flick as a time-waster, I think of people who enjoy kicking puppies.

Oddly, the person who arranged the music isn't credited. He's Serge Besset, and he's worked for years on short animations. I had the privilege of seeing him in Taipei, in attendance at a retrospective of his work.

Bref: Go to YouTube and watch it!

5 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Great...if you like boring and pretentious!, 1 September 2008

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

I just can't believe that so far all the reviewers have given this cartoon a perfect score AND it was nominated for an Oscar! This is a cartoon that a small number of people will no doubt enjoy, but all children and many, many adults will find it a waste of time. I know this sounds harsh, but let's face it---there are many Oscar-nominated films that the average person would never watch or enjoy in a bijillion years and this is one of these films.

I didn't particularly enjoy the cartoon. At first, it seemed kind of cute to watch the very simply drawn monk jumping up and down trying to catch the fish...for about the first minute. About the only thing I enjoyed throughout was the music written by Corelli--a magnificent piece of music that was written in the very early Baroque period. Other than that, I am sorry but I must be a plebeian--it just didn't interest me in the least and seemed dull and pretentious.

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