Kirpianuscus ...and a war. after 66 years late, it remains surprising, fresh and fascinating. not only for the mix of stop-motion and live-actin but for a sort of magic who escape from explanations. it is the film who reminds the feelings at the circus show from childhood. and that does it more than amusing. but a trip in time, discovering a real usefull lesson about friendship and the meanings of war. so, a flowe. and two men.

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!

MartinHafer This is a rather heavy-handed but well made animated short about war. While the message is presented through "sledgehammer symbolism" (i.e., it wasn't exactly subtle), the film's stop-motion cinematography was very nice and well done. It certainly is interesting.The movie begins with two normal looking 1950s era guy sitting outside their cutout homes. Both are sitting in lounge chairs reading their newspapers (which, in a not so subtle move, have headlines about war). Then, suddenly, a flower appears on the border of their yards and both think it's the most wonderful flower in the world. However, because they both love it so much, they begin fighting over it--almost like in a Tom & Jerry movie! At first, it's kind of funny, but when it degenerates to attacking their wives and babies, the joke is over. Ultimately, it ends on a very fitting note.

clurge-2 This film is amazing. Truly amazing.The knack for animation seems to be one of Canada's greatest gifts, so I guess that would make Norm McLaren the most generous man at the party. This piece is visually stunning; watching the characters cascade across the screen with the help of stop-motion techniques is a thing of beauty. The awkward, electronique-esque soundtrack conjures up, and speaks for, every single emotion that McLaren is trying to get across visually. In eight minutes, McLaren develops the two male characters, and their emotions, better than a feature length Hollywood production could in two hours. Could he have made it longer? Sure...but he said all he needed to say in the few minutes he worked with...namely, "Love Thy Neighbour". If you can't find this Oscar winner (for Best Animation Short oh so long ago) you are really missing out on something magical. A thing of beauty, and a Canadian gem. Thanks, Mr. McLaren.