The first is a Animated reflection on love and the Preguntas Hermosas (beautiful questions) that are left in the Love's wake. The narrator's Spanish accent has a magical quality that is highlighted by the fanciful animations, and together, the raspiness of the narrators voice along with the animations and the expressive nature of the monologue are entrancing and do well to mimic the magical realism of so many Latin American writers, cinematographers, and story tellers. Overall the short animation represents a journey of much larger proportions, the journey from love to loss and then to acceptance. The piece's lyricism and expression is overflowing, to the point that you just want it to keep going, hopefully one day the film makers will choose to add on to it, but for now we are left with lines like this. . . "Love, with little hands, comes and touches you with a thousand memories". If you like awesome 3D animation, magical realism, Pablo Neruda, Carl Sandburg, love, loss, or anything else mentioned in this synopsis I suggest you take a few moments to watch this video.
"Preguntas Hermosas" is a story about a time that was shared between two people, told through a combination of "Poema X" by Pablo Neruda and "Under the Harvest Moon" by Carl Sandburg. It unfolds in three parts; a fond remembrance, loss, and then finally acceptance.
The Second video stands in utter and stark contrast from the first. I don't really know how I managed to stumble upon these in succession, but it really struck me. First of all I will make the caveat that this video does use a considerable amount of explicit language, so if you are adamantly opposed to the frequent use of the F-word and are not willing to sit through a few minutes of it I suggest you don't watch this video. With that said the grittiness of the footage and the heavy doses of irony are what really made this appealing to me. The video follows a group of skateboarders who get their kicks from skating around in abandoned pools. The visual appeal of the piece is very high, the camera angles and focus are spot on and make a lot out of a little. But what makes the piece even more interesting is the commentary going on in the background. As the film goes on the skateboarders talk about the fact that the pools they are using are actually a result of the economic crisis, that when people built their homes in California back in the 70's and 80's they thought their backyard pools would be an eternal oasis of relaxation but that now the pools represent a much harsher reality. The skaters claim to be making the most of other peoples' misfortunes, and do so without remorse, when they talk about the fact that they are essentially recycling someone else's dream and way of life they simply shrug their shoulders and say they don't really care, that they know what it feels like to be poor, and that they are just chasing their passion. Its a definite departure from Neruda, but admirable none the less.
Some of them are full of black water. Others have become graveyards for old lawn furniture and rodent carcasses. They are shaped like jelly beans and manufactured by companies named Sunny Side and Champagne. Once upon a time, Fresno was the California Dream. Own a car. Own a house. Own a pool. Everyone wanted it and the wonderful world of credit made it all possible. But now, with the foreclosure monster running wild, the dream is dry. Thousands of pools are festering in the hot Central Valley sun. For most people this is tragic. But for some, it’s an opportunity.
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