Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Storm" is a British animated short film from 2011 that runs for a bit over 10 minutes and is apparently the only directorial effort by Daniel Charles Turner. This is one of those rare films where the visual side follows the audio side, i.e. the narration, because that one clearly came first in the creative process. The script and monologue are written by Tim Minchin and his is also the voice you hear from start to finish in here, which may help in terms of dedication when it comes to line deliverance. It's his material and he really wants it to reach you. It is the story of a man meeting a woman named Storm and she tells her views on God, the World, psychology and several other fields that may be a bit too heavy for a first date. But well, it is what it is and maybe that's the only real neutral criticism you can make to her. She is a dreamer for sure and her perceptions and ideas may not be fact-based at all and not objective at all, but you can somewhat make a point for her approaches, even if the narrator here tells you otherwise. His is the idea of rationality in every regard and while I feel that the writing here was extremely sharp and entertaining and also really creative, I find it difficult to side with him entirely. Maybe side with him at all as I personally am not sure if I find his approach and thoughts more on the depressing or uplifting side. I guess it is up to everybody's personal perception and approach. But even if I do not share Minchin's views on several occasions, I believe he came up with something extraordinary here as this is a film that will really make you think and that may make it easy for you to find out about how you see things in life, how you see yourself and how you see life in general. This should also explain my high rating here. This film oozes creativitity regardless of what you think about the animation style (I liked it, it fit the subject nicely) and the concept as a whole. My favorite part? Maybe the reference about alternative medicine. The approach is similar to Hertzfeldt's in terms of tone. This one really needs to be seen.