Tsumiki no ie (2008)

Director:

Kunio Katô

Writer:

Kunio Katô (written by)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Drama | Family

Plot:

As his town is flooded by water, an old man is forced to add additional levels onto his home with bricks (cubes) in order to stay dry...

Plot Keywords:

Old Man | Scuba Diving | Memory | Oscar Nom 2009

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

Masami Nagasawa

...

Narration

Also Known As:

La maison en petits cubes (USA) (festival title)
The House of Small Cubes (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

12 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Robot Communications

Trivia:

Director/writer Kunio Katô became the first Asian to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film since the category was initiated in 1932.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009) (TV)

Very good

Like last year, I went to a special showing of the Oscar-nominated animated short films. However, unlike last year, in addition to the nominees, several "commended films" were also shown. In this review I'll make my predictions, though if it's anything like last year's choices, I'll probably once again pick the wrong shorts as my favorite for the award.

The film features an old man living alone in a town that has become submerged. His answer to the slowly rising water is to keep building on to his original home--like placing cubes on top of cubes to keep out the water. When he loses his favorite pipe, he dons scuba gear to retrieve it. As he descends and sees the earlier levels of his home (now submerged) he relives in his mind his life and loves. It's all very sweet and sentimental.

I saw this film with a friend and he liked how the scuba diving was a great plot device. He loved the metaphorical aspects of the film. As for me, I wondered if perhaps there was actually a secondary reason for the submerged homes--to draw attention to global warming. He didn't see it and perhaps I am just reading this into the film, though I still suspect the film is trying to preach to the audience about this supposed threat.

The story was slow but very sweet--accentuated by a nice hand-drawn look and the gauze filter used to enhance the print along with evocative music. Oddly, while the film maker is apparently Japanese, the title is French and the art work doesn't really look Asian-inspired at all.

Of the five films nominated, this is probably my third favorite. It was extremely creative and unique, but I still think the award will either be taken by PRESTO or my favorite, THIS WAY UP.

UPDATE: LA MAISON EN PETITS CUBES was the winner this year. Not surprisingly, I got this one wrong but at least saw the film as a strong contender.