The Man with the Beautiful Eyes (1999)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Jonathan Hodgson

Writer:

Charles Bukowski (poem)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Short

Plot:

Some children are fascinated by a lonely house in the neighbourhood they have been told to stay away from.

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Peter Blegvad	...	(voice)
Louis Schendler	...	(voice)

Runtime:

5 min | Argentina:6 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:Unrated | UK:12

Company:

Sherbet

Wonderful animation with a message!

This is a story about America. Hodgson wonderfully animates the story written by Bukowski- one of the great American authors inspired by the beat generation. A story about a group of children whom are tempted to seek out that which their parents forbade. When they do they are pleasantly surprised, they find a fishpond with the most beautiful goldfish and a man with the most beautiful eyes they've ever seen.They feel their parents did not want them to see things so beautiful as they were ashamed they weren't as beautiful. So they return one day and find that the fish are dead and the man's house has been burned down. They come to one conclusion: it was the work of their parents! They now feared that no one wanted anyone else to be strong and beautiful like the fish and man with the beautiful eyes, therefore many people will die.

The poetic narration along with the eye catching imagery holds your fascination throughout the brilliant film and leaves you with a message...If one country has so much more than another, as the US does compared to the industrializing and third world, and the youth of these less well off areas realize this, they will crave such things, inevitably leading to conflict and wars. A message for communism/socialism perhaps? We'd all be better off if we had equality of condition, rather than with the equality of opportunity which has created the world we see today? The nature of the man with the beautiful eyes (foul mouth, unkept, and drunk) leads you to believe that he represents America. His blazing eyes symbolizing the hope that youth in poorer countries see in America, causing them to strive to get there. But what these youths don't realize is that the eyes can be deceiving. Is it worth being strong and having beautiful eyes if you are unkept, foul mouthed, constantly drunk, and hated by the rest of society(or the world)? This paradox is what led the parents to destroy him, and the children to come to their conclusion. An amazing short film with an amazing message. Recommended for short film and animation lovers! 10 out 10.