This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Or, more exactly, propaganda of war. dark, macabre - the music from Balkans as clue - , well crafted and proposing the expected provocative story of Tomek Baginski. ironic parable about war, armies, soldiers and dark sides of "innocent" delights.

I have now seen this short film twice. After reviewing it the first time, I received a well written message imploring me to reconsider my review and that I had missed the important anti-war message. So, I have just deleted my first review and have decided to try the film one more time--though I still am very surprised the film received the BAFTA award (the British equivalent of the Oscar).Before I even talk about the content of the film, the first thing that you are bound to notice is the absolutely breath-taking CGI. Despite not coming from a big-name studio like Pixar or Dreamworks, this computer animation is amazing--with rich details and better technical quality than I would have expected from such a company. They deserved lots of kudos for this.As for the content of the film, after looking at the film a second time, I could see the anti-war message just like I did the first time, but I won't go so far as to describe it as "point-less". Sure, there is a point to it--but I just don't think they made it very well. Those who are gung-ho anti-war folks will probably applaud its grotesque message. While I am not some pro-war nut, I just thought that the message was way, way too heavy-handed and gross. Sure, war is bad (duh) but I can think of at least a dozen films off the top of my head that said this better and in more subtle ways.Overall, technically great but not a film I heartily recommend.

After seeing Tomek Baginski's "Katedra" I thought nothing could beat it. "Sztuka spadania" is at least as good as the previous film but impressive in a different manner. "Katedra" is a masterpiece of suspense, climate and superb computer graphics skills. In terms of craftsmanship, "Sztuka spadania" shows huge (I dare say) advancement in some areas of lighting, rendering and animation (here I bow low to the whole team of the film's creators). In terms of script/directing it's a whole different story. Whereas "Katedra" made me shiver in awe (realy!), "Sztuka spadania" made my sensors of wicked humor rage! Although some of the scenes might appear macabre, the whole idea, for me, is totally hilarious. The short story is brilliantly spiced up with the music of a Romanian brass band (Fanfare Ciocarlia I suppose). To cut the long story short, "Sztuka spadania" is a must see! BTW, if I could decide on the Oscars... ehh... Next time!

It is not about how hard is producing animations. The topic is much more deep. The short tells how human life is wasted in making real the project of war. In war, soldiers are sent to die for beautiful causes like destroy Vietnam to save democracy, steal the oil of Iraq or make a cartoon with corpses.Only people who make war can feel "beautiful" that kind of art: the art of war.For example, Hitler wanted to make a perfect race, no matter the sacrifice done or people to kill: he sees art in what he does, but no other people, thats why the theater in the short is empty.Also you can find a superb animation and a fresh way to expose the anti-war message.