Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

"The OceanMaker" (why the capitalized m?) is a 10-minute American award-nominated animated short film from 2014 and it says here on imdb that Belize co-produced this one which I found surprising as it is definitely very rare to see a film from Belize, but maybe the protagonist's skin color is an indicator that it's actually true. Writer and director Lucas Martell is fairly prolific in all kinds of fields in the filmmaking process, but this one here is really just his second credit as the man in charge and while I thought his first, the Mission Impossible spoof Pigeon: Impossible, also animated, was nothing special at all, I must say the same about this one here. Visually it is okay with the aviation scenes, the landscapes and perhaps also with the character, but that's it. The need for water component never feels elaborated on properly, which is why the big pouring rain scene near the end was not half as memorable or emotional as it could have been and the lighthouse symbolism falls flat too. Nonetheless, also with the title character's origin, you can wonder to what extent this film could also play in the present if African people living in dry desert countries had the knowledge and training and equipment to actually go hunting for water up in the skies. So this short film may result in some solid discussion on the suvject, but that does not really mean it is a ood, let alone great, watch at any time. A bit of a shame. I could see it working as part of a full feature film, but as the film itself, there is just too much mediocrity in here for me to recommend it. If you want to watch it, watch it on a big screen as it is probably more effective there than on your little laptop monitor. And you won't need any subs regardless of which languages you speak as there is no dialogue in here. Still the best choice is to skip this one I'd say. Not recommended.

a hope story. almost perfect. for realism, for great soundtrack, for the story, for the remind of the fruit of sacrifice, for remind of force of idealism. and for something else - courage, duty, force of David against Goliath. short, one of films who, for long time, remains in memory as precious pledge for a world who could be changed by yourself.

A clever, heroic post-apocalyptic tale with spectacular animation and soundtrack. The animation of the aircraft are first-class. The dry desert environment was both haunting and realistic. Lots of little touches gave the animation amazing realism, such as the cracked lenses in the binoculars, the weathered planes, and the detritus on the floor bed of the ocean. The orchestral soundtrack suited the piece perfectly and was of equal quality to that heard in any major movie. My only quibble was that the facial features of the characters looked too cartoonish and unrealistic when compared to the realism of the landscape. It detracted from the sombre story and made me feel less interested in the fate of the pilot. Overall though, a very creative mini-movie with soul that will stay with me far longer than many current CGI blockbusters. Loved the satisfying ending and would love to see a Part II!