ackstasis On a far distant planet stands a immense cathedral, seemingly derelict and lifeless. A solitary traveler stands before the crumbling columns, silently watching and waiting. The film leaves countless questions unanswered, its dialogue-free script allowing for the visuals and music to tell the story, and for the viewer to fill in the blanks. Where is this beautiful planet? Who is this lone traveler? Why has he made this pilgrimage to such a remote cathedral? Indeed, who actually built this cathedral, and for how long has it stood here?Tomek Baginski's animated short film, 'Katedra / The Cathedral,' is a fascinating and visually-stunning journey into the unknown, and a philosophical exploration of the nature of religion. It is based upon Jacek Dukaj's short story of the same name, and was created using 3ds Max, a full-featured 3D graphics application developed by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. The CGI visuals, which allegedly took three years to produce, are nothing short of perfect, every frame as beautiful as the last. With no dialogue to speak of, 'Katedra' also relies heavily on its choice of music, and the steadily-building electronic track used during the film's climax is wonderfully rousing.The conclusion itself is worthy of some discussion, though I'll stop short of giving away what actually happens. What could this ending actually be implying? That a religion is comprised solely of its believers? Could the pilgrim's faith have allowed him to become a part of something wonderful and glorious? This, of course, is without considering whether or not the traveler knew what was about to happen when the sun made its dazzling appearance. Whatever your interpretation, there's no denying that this film is simply a thing of beauty.

Bonegang This is a mysterious, Gothic, fantasy vision crafted from the story by Polish sci-fi author Jacek Dukaj. There is no dialogue in the piece, only a haunting soundtrack that complements the expertly rendered CGI. And what great animation this is: a sense of gentle foreboding permeates every part of the beautiful and grandly scaled cinematography that is reminiscent of H.R. Giger with a dark palette in twilight shades and the surreal organic feel to the 'architecture'. The story starts with a young man leaning on his staff, taking in the huge vista of a sun setting behind a redly lava-rous world that takes up half the sky. As the line of night races past him we take in the scale of what can be seen to be a cathedral, behind him. He appears to sigh inwardly and turns to walk into the huge 'building'... You will probably watch this short over and over again back to back, as I did and, apparently, as did the jury of Siggraph 2002 that awarded this piece their prestigious "Best Animated Short" by unanimous vote. Since this is Tomek Baginski's first major release, I will look out for his subsequent work: to set such a high standard from the start could indicate a rare and special talent.

Timothy Damon Definitely one of the most intriguing cgi films I've seen, although I had some difficulty following the plot. The wraith-like main character, the entombed humanoids within the "forest cathedral (reminded me of the bas-relief sculpture in THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE coming to life . . .)I'm definitely going to have to track down the Jacek Dukaj short story . ..

mkoval A computer graphic movie as never made before. Not a very complicated story, no dialogues, but the visual effect is really stunning. Based on Polish science-fiction short story by Jacek Dukaj, it is a masterpiece of computer-generated film art. Therefore, the Academy Award nomination is not a surprise.