Partners in animated shorts since 2007, Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León went feature-length with this vaguely political allegory, a well-reviewed, if little seen chiller that mixes various styles of animation (hand-drawn; puppetry; stop-motion). It opens with a ‘restored’ faux ‘60s documentary on a discreet German Colony in Chile’s back-country, a happy land where strong local honey, strong personal discipline and strong support for the fascist Pinochet government lead one freedom-loving woman to escape. Now she’s living in a cabin of fear with a wolf at the door and fellow visiting victims. Or something like that. JC/CL none too clear on narrative detail; much more concerned with laying out overstuffed design elements amid constant washes of colors and animated movement in every corner. All very 1970s avant garde in decor and technique. (1973 when Pinochet took power, so . . . intentional?) The animators’ visual idée fixe a deadly bleed out (seen in many of their earlier shorts) which turns into a spontaneous blood bath. Less stop-motion animation than glop-motion animation as characters ooze away in front of your eyes. No doubt, appealing to some. It certainly got attention from Film Fest juries.
WATCH THIS, NOT THAT/LINK: Top notch animated/allegorical anti-Pinochet pic in EL CONDE.’23. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2023/09/el-conde-2023.html
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