Overrated and overhyped

A Brilliant Conflict

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Archibald is a creature that nothing ever happens to; he spends his days in the woods sometimes with frolicking packs of mushrooms but mostly just sitting at the foot of a big tree. One day he sees something fall from the sky and goes to investigate only to find a circle that will change his life forever.There is an odd throwback style to this film and I suspect that creating that sense of time and place was one of the goals of this project. The traditional feel and wholesome sense of story and characters is very much reminiscent of cartoons from before the recent days or irony and invention – particularly the cartoons of my childhood in the 1980's. I do not say this as fondly as maybe it sounds, because I hold no special memories of childhood television as I personally think the material made now has more about it, however as an aesthetic this short film does harkened back well.In terms of content it delivers a nice but very simple short narrative but has enough imagination to the story to make it engaging. The circle as a device is interesting and the graphical design of this and Archibald himself catches the eye because as traditional as the film feels, these two characters are odd – with even Archibald appearing to be a cross between a bear, a bird and a shape. I am not sure if the narration is different by language or not, the plot summary on IMDb which names the character as "Scott" suggests that different regions may have had their own version, not sure; regardless the crisp English narration that I saw was well delivered and really helped set the tone of the animation.It perhaps doesn't amount to much and is too fleeting to really make a big impression but as a throwback animation with a bit of modern wit and imagination it works pretty well.