Simhall is set in a swimming pool which is run by a horse. Two wolves visit (one is clearly the aggressor of the two), and a trio of mice sneak in through the fire exit with the aim of stealing from the safe. That essentially is the plot to the film, and it is probably best leaving that to one side for a moment. The film is best when you look at the animation; it is stop-motion but has great detail in the place and characters, and has a very odd other-worldly feel to it. This superior construction also extends to the characters, who have interesting elements to them in the detail. The wolves ae probably the best example, since there is an odd dynamic to their relationship.
The problem is that all of this is generally stuff viewed as secondary – the film still needs a good story to have on top of promising character elements, and good animation. In this case, it doesn't. It is not that nothing happens (there is a robbery, a chemical spill, an evacuation – well, two evacuations if you include a biological one), but it is that there is no interest to any of these events. The pace of the film is very slow – the dialogue has long spaces between lines, the characters move slowly, and the direction encourages this slow pace by the design. As I was originally won over by the oddity of the film, I stayed with it till the end, waiting for something to interest me, or for me to be struck by the humor or cleverness of it – but it never came.
I am European, but even I concede that this is the sort of difficult and cold film that people think of when you say "European animated short film" – it is a stereotype perhaps, but this sort of thing reinforces it! There is great work here in some aspects, but the plot, characters, and general pacing of the film all make it difficult and frustrating to watch.
The problem is that all of this is generally stuff viewed as secondary – the film still needs a good story to have on top of promising character elements, and good animation. In this case, it doesn't. It is not that nothing happens (there is a robbery, a chemical spill, an evacuation – well, two evacuations if you include a biological one), but it is that there is no interest to any of these events. The pace of the film is very slow – the dialogue has long spaces between lines, the characters move slowly, and the direction encourages this slow pace by the design. As I was originally won over by the oddity of the film, I stayed with it till the end, waiting for something to interest me, or for me to be struck by the humor or cleverness of it – but it never came.
I am European, but even I concede that this is the sort of difficult and cold film that people think of when you say "European animated short film" – it is a stereotype perhaps, but this sort of thing reinforces it! There is great work here in some aspects, but the plot, characters, and general pacing of the film all make it difficult and frustrating to watch.
