BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) I have to say I don't mind Norman McLaren getting an Academy Award. I am generally not too big on his movies and that includes this one here, but he is sort of considered a legend in animation from the 20th century, so it's fine with me. That does not change, however, the way I perceived this short film here. It is in color, runs for 8 minutes and not only won the Academy Award, but was nominated in another category as well, something that is not possible today anymore, at least not for short movies. The entire film is about two men fighting for a flower which grows in their garden. First, the dispute is verbally, then it gets physical and in the end it is lethal. The story is too absurd for my taste already, which hurt my perception of this film and I felt that it dragged occasionally. Then again, this is the point as the actions by the two men are not human at all, but basically all special effects. One of the two was Grant Munro, a famous animation filmmaker himself and still alive in his 90s today. This short film from almost 65 years ago did not do a lot for me. Only worth a watch for those who want to see all short film winners from the Oscars. Everybody else is not missing much, even if this is maybe the most famous short film from the legendary NFB.

M B This films shows the stupidity of all war conflicts throughout human history in a minimalistic and symbolical way. The plot is quite basic - 2 neighbours live peacefully until an apple of discord in the form of beautiful flower appears. They fight over it eventually murdering their families and each other.I have no clue how this film got classified as a documentary.I have no clue how this film could have won an Oscar without the wife and children murder scene. If you throw away the rest of the short and just leave that scene without any backstory,it will touch you deeply in the heart.It captures the essence of war - terror,grief,pain. The pain of the non interfering observer.Despite simplicity of the visual means in this scene,the "language" is very grotesque and powerful,one can compare it to the the language of the Bible or Iliad,to the aesthetics of Greek sculpture.All in all it is a must see short,enjoy watching!

ackstasis I must confess that I am unsure why Norman McLaren's 'Neighbours' is held in such high regard. Whilst it is certainly a fun and very comical short film, it seemed to lack the professionalism that I usually enjoy in my film-making; this particular short just appeared to have been thrown together very cheaply by an amateur. 'Neighbours' was produced at the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal, and it employed a technique known as pixilation, in which live actors are used as stop motion objects. Other portions of the film were created with variable-speed photography, particularly fast-motion.The plot of the film is a very simple allegory for human warfare. According to McLaren, he was inspired to make 'Neighbours' after a temporary stay in the People's Republic of China. After witnessing the beginnings of Mao's revolution, and the onset of the Korean War, he decided to make a strong anti-military and anti-war film statement. In the film, two young men (Grant Munro and Jean Paul Ladouceur) enjoy the sunlight outside their respective cardboard houses. To their surprise, a beautiful aromatic flower grows in the divide between their two properties, and they begin to bicker over ownership of the plant. This small-scale dispute soon escalates into a frenetic mini-war, as each man furiously murders the wife and child of his neighbour (this particular scene was removed prior to submission for the Academy Awards) and the final result is the death of both men, and of the beautiful flower over which they were arguing. The film ends by stating its overall moral quite simply in various languages: "love your neighbour."The film is accompanied by an array of zany sound effects – similar to something you might hear in an early arcade game – which McLaren created by scratching the edge of the film into various shapes and lines, which the projector then read as sound. At the 1953 Academy Awards, 'Neighbours' was nominated for Best Short Subject (one reel) and it won Best Documentary, Short Subject (somewhat bafflingly, since the film itself is entirely dramatic).I'd consider 'Neighbours' to be an entertaining little film, but without the allegorical resonance that many attribute to it. In terms of film-making, the animation is quite inventive, but ultimately nothing to write home about. Perhaps, placed in the context of the era in which it was made, the film takes on a greater significance.

bkwrds norman mclaren's neighbours is a masterpiece of animation- it entertains, educates, and satirizes, all at once.the plot of the film is simple, and predictable: two neighbours are fighting over a flower, which seems to fall directly between their two properties. naturally, the two fight over the flower until both they and the flower are destroyed.however, underneath that simple plot, there lies a strong anti-war message. it points out that war does not allow for winners, only losers; and it reminds us that we've been known to forget why, exactly, we're fighting each other, killing each other, as well as each other's families.the battle is shown with live-action/stop-go animation- which allows the effects of the flower on the two men to be exagarrated easily. this suits the film well, giving a serious topic a little light-heartedness.an interesting side-note- the soundtrack was not recorded, but rather hand-painted (by mclaren himself) onto the soundtrack. this gives the soundtrack a boxy, nintendo-like quality.in my mind, this film could sit easily with modern anti-war classics; never too preachy, never too simple.truly enjoyable.