Mindscape

In a kind of Rene Magritte way, the artist is the painting. Once he climbs into it, he begins to see the roots of his subject. This is a methodically created, painstaking masterpiece. We are taken from a well painted landscape painting and given a tour of wonder. I don't agree that there is no story. There is no conventional plot. That is true. But the story is in the constantly changing images flashed across the screen.

Just wanted to say this is an absolute masterpiece, and everyone

who's lucky enough to have a chance to see it shouldn't miss

that chance, it's a once in a lifetime. Congratulations Jacques,

give us more of the same please! (or anything else, actually)

it is mind-boggling to see this short. It reminds me a little of michel gondry's video for "let forever be" by the chemical brothers. I feel reluctant making this comparison though, in a way, because it is evident that this piece of animation must have taken thousands of hours to produce. i love it.

the rendering alone shows a mastery of this obscure medium, pinscreen animation.

I still have not been able to find a clip of this piece anywhere on the internet. I saw it on TV on a channel in new york called fine arts showcase.

If anyone knows where I could view it again, please post.

This is a truly amazing animated film from Canada. The entire short is done in black and white and unless you know more about the process, you might not realize how long and difficult it was to bring this film to life. Instead of hand-drawn or computer-generated animation, the film maker used thousands and thousands of tiny pins and put them on screens. Then, by manipulating the height of them, it makes the appearance of a giant picture when they are all seen together. All this is set to lovely music and the scenes continually change--morphing from one scene into another rather seamlessly. It's amazing to think about the time it took and the film truly is a work of art--and would probably be at home in a modern art museum. The only reason I didn't rate this amazing film higher is that after a while it all becomes a tad tedious, as this is NOT a film with a lot of commercial appeal.

FYI--This style film was not created by the makers of LE PAYSAGISTE. In fact, UNE NUIT SUR LE MONT CHAUVE is done by the same process and predates this film by 43 years. See them both if you have a chance. Also, I recently saw NIGHTANGEL (also by Drouin) and it is even better than this film--an amazing work of art from start to finish.

Whoa. Cool, I really think they made a real little masterwork in this beautiful and enchanting short, the artistic themes of it are something that I personally believe in, and this really spoke to me, I thought it was brilliant! I don't think I've ever seen something that so simply yet so aptly sums-up in an entirely visual way all the subtle wonder and power of the imagination and what it is to have belief in something that you conjure up in your own mind so strongly that you become as much a part of it as it is a part of you. The chalky etched style of the animation which was done with a technique that I had never heard of before, is very much one of my favourite kinds, and it's so rich and incredibly well done here. To me it still looks so fantastic that it has a timeless quality, it doesn't even look like it's coming from 1976! It simply must have taken years to bring it all to life, but however long and painstaking it might have been, it was definitely worth the effort, and I just find every last second amazing to look at. It's so ingenious and mesmerising as the artist becomes so enraptured by the scenic landscape before him that he's painting, that he steps into his canvas, which then disappears, and it's like you don't know where the world of his imagination ends or begins - what a concept! I don't agree that it's in any way eerie or gloomy, or that it drags, it's ethereal and strange, neither particularly colourful or uplifting, nor bleak or dark, I find it as stark and intangible as a very solemn dream. However, as it reaches its conclusion there is the more ominous imagery of the ticking clock and the picture world going down in flames, which I took of being symbolic of how occasionally in life as you grow weary and soul-tired your special talents can seem to disappear with the passing of time. But I believe that can never go away forever, as it shows at the end when all the creativity goes back to where it all began in the man's mind, stored away in a little box, the gifts are merely resting in a place deep inside, waiting for the right time to begin again. So yeah I thought it was a mighty magnificent beautiful short and I just loved it, thought it was very meaningful.. Farewell!