David R. Walker

Archive for the ‘Animated’ Category

The Peasants

Director: Dorota Kobiela Welchman and Hugh Welchman

Cast: Kamila Urzędowska, Robert Gulaczyk, Mirosław Baka, Sonia Mietielica, Cezary Łukaszewicz, Andrzej Konopka, Maciej Musiał

Running Time: 1 hour and 54 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Language: Polish with English Subtitles

Festivals: Toronto, European Film Festival

PLEASE NOTE THIS FILM IS ANIMATED.

Polish directors Dorota Kobiela Welchman and Hugh Welchman who previously brought viewers the adult animated Oscar nominated film Loving Vincent in 2017, have returned with a new film simply entitled The Peasants which takes place in a small Polish village Lipce at the beginning of the 20^th century and based on the novel by Władysław Reymont.

The gorgeous style of animation somehow amplifies the action and drama of this community story about the beautiful Jagna as she falls in love with a wealthy land owner’s son Antek.

Skilfully interwoven with polish folk songs, local gossip and conflict, The Peasants focuses on the bizarre love triangle of Jagna, a beautiful if slightly promiscuous young eligible lady who has an affair with Antek while in the process of marrying his recently widowed wealthy father Maciej Boryna. Antek is also married to Hanka. As the adulterous couple continue a scandalous relationship, the rest of the village soon discovers the ramifications of such an affair as a conflict with the landowner’s emissary soon exposes Maciej’s weakness and Jagna’s vulnerability.

Visually astounding and beautifully portrayed, The Peasants expertly uses a technique known as painted animation to tell the unbelievable story of the two lovers who defy a community and eventually ruin a family.

The directors use animation to soften the effects of such controversial themes as rape, humiliation and ostracism as they portray The Peasants as a lively yet gossip mongering group of villagers in a series of seasonal shifts depicting the gradual change in community relationships.

Interspersed with issues about land ownership, dowry negotiations and rural hardships, The Peasants has beautiful moments particularly the lavish wedding scene between Jagna and Maciej despite the controversial scandal which eventually unfolds.

Gossip becomes a weapon of exclusion in the case of Jagna who has to sacrifice her position in the village when all the secrets are revealed, exposing how little civil rights women had in rural Poland at the beginning of the 20^th century. Antek is revealed to be an angry farmer who is only after satisfying his sexual desires.

The Peasants proves to be a cinematic treat and a brilliant animated depiction of rural life in Poland incorporating all their customs, rituals and songs.

Dazzling and artfully executed, The Peasants gets a film rating of 8 out of 10. Recommended viewing for those that love quality animation and an imaginative folk tale.

Transformers One

Director: Josh Cooley

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne, Keegan-Michael Key

Running Time: 1 hour and 44 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Please note this film is animated and created with CGI

A host of stars get some much needed voice work as voice overs in the new Transformers One film directed by Josh Cooley, which is a first fully CGI created animated feature film with dazzling visual effects and an entertaining origin story, which acts more like a prequel for the Transformers before they land on earth. The action takes place on Cybertron.

Chris Hemsworth, Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story, JoJo Rabbit) and Oscar nominee Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway) voice the three main lead bots – Orion Pax, Elita 1 and D-16. Orion Pax and D-16 are lowly miner bots in the Cybertron hierarchy and when they don’t follow protocol they land up on a heroic adventure along with the smart Elita 1 to discover what the seemingly benign Sentinel Prime expertly voiced by Jon Hamm is really up to.

As the trio leave Cybertron and go to the planet’s surface, they meet the talkative B127 voiced by the excellent Keegan-Michael Key (Wonka) and soon discover that Sentinel Prime is using the lowly non-transformative bots to do mining for a more sinister force.

As Orion Pax and his friends discover the truth about their world they encounter Alpha Trion, voiced by Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne (What’s Love Got To Do With It) who gives them their transformation cog back allowing them to expertly transform into the multi-functional robots they are meant to be.

Soon Orion, Elita 1 and the gang confront the evil Sentinel Prime who has doubled the amount of mining on Cybertron and then much to Orion’s surprise his best friend transforms once his real power is restored.

Since live action versions of Transformers have all but been exhausted, it was a smart move to release an animated and completed computer generated version of Transformers One, a humorous and colourful origin story fit for a younger audience which will entice them to watch the earlier films.

Its 17 years since the first live action Transformers film was released back in 2007 which launched the careers of Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel and there is still lot in this Hasbro toy inspired franchise to explore and develop.

While it was fascinating to watch the superb animation, which this film deserves to be recognized for, it is equally interesting to identify the different voices of the famous cast members.

The visual effects and production design of Transformers One is amazing and as animated film, this serves as a worthy addition to stand deservedly alongside the multiple Live action versions.

Transformers One is entertaining, humorous and filled with moral lessons about leadership, corruption and deception.

Take the kids to watch Transformers One and discover the origin story of the rise of Optimus Prime. Transformers One gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is recommended viewing. The talented voice cast expertly compliment the incredible visuals on screen.