fac20
Being a fan of unusual movies, I decided to go and watch We Are the Strange when it was shown at Leeds Film Festival. Unfortunately, this movie is not strange in a good or interesting way. The plot is pretty much non-existent and if it wasn't for the lengthly character description at the beginning of the movie, it would be nothing more than complete confusion in cinematic form. Although the random mismatch of animation styles used in this movie creates a sense of chaos which is fitting to the world in which the film is based, this does not make for good watching and becomes repetitive very quickly. Some people praise the mixture of animation styles and lack of a plot as 'thinking out of the box'. However, thinking out of the box is not always a good thing. For instance, if I decided to cook myself something new by combining elements of different world cuisines, the result might be: a fish, beef and pasta pie seasoned with typical Indian spices and topped off with a rich chocolate and Weetabix sauce. This would be thinking out of the box, but would anyone want to eat it?All this movie achieves, is to portray its creator's (M dot Strange) self-indulgence. M dot Strange would have saved a lot of time, both for himself and others, if he had simply made the visuals for a five minute music video. There is an obvious reason why most people don't make whole movies by themselves - the results will be unwatchable!
tomwebb3432
First off, orthodox people who follow mainstream trends in thinking and who digest politically correct thought with glee will most likely HATE this film.This is a film which is truly free in itself. It is not a calculation designed to conform with and satisfy any expectation. This film is not swayed towards any preconceived notion of how a film should be done, or even what a film should in any any be about.The film is an abstract, highly creative masterpiece of expression. Its genius is in how it rejects so many subtle preconceived "rules". In fact it is obvious the creator is indeed very aware with the general patterns of how things are done, but has decided to go his own direction in almost every single way. The connection the viewer has the potential to make with this film is so different that they may find themselves questioning many hidden assumptions about what they are looking for in a film, or even in life in general.The end result of the experience of viewing this film is truly unique. Nothing is like this. This is the free, uninhibited imaginative expression of a masterful artist. Visually mind blowing, conceptually from another planet, with awesome (and often hilarious) sound and music this movie is simply on a different frequency from everything that has gone before it.I am certain this represents a milestone. I see this film as opening a door, and a window of great opportunity. That a person from an "average" background with nonetheless great artistic talent, may with the modern wonders of computer technology compete with multi million dollar studios to capture the heart and imagination of the masses. To me I see this movie as a rebellion against the aristocracy that exists in the movie business and indeed perhaps a rebellion against capitalism and conventional thought altogether.I know certain types of thinks will hate this, others won't get it at all, but this is without a doubt now one of my favorite films ever.
ElijahCSkuggs
Finally I get to see We Are The Strange. I don't remember in the slightest how I came to know about M. Dot Strange's work, but overall I'm glad I did. What we have here is a technical achievement on a pretty high level. The story itself is simple, but at the same time, it's really hard to understand. I urge everyone thinking about seeing this movie to read up about what the movie is about first. If I didn't know the plot beforehand, I would have been completely and utterly bewildered right up until the end of the flick. But the plot isn't the reason to watch this film. It's the visuals and the sound. It's really like nothing I've ever seen, and most likely nothing you've seen as well. I enjoyed We Are The Strange due to it's imaginative art, music and style, but I still felt lost quite a bit...too much so. This is a movie for people who are artistic, imaginative and adventurous with their movie watching, everyone else should stay put.
Conor Long
By far the weirdest movie I have ever seen. When M dot Strange was told to think outside the box, he overshot a little. He stepped out of the box, and punted it into the sea. At the screening at Sundance, M dot Strange said that he pretty much locked himself in his room with a bunch of broken toys, and nine computers. He stayed there for more than a year with only his frighteningly twisted imagination, and came out with this animation that is a mix between Stop-motion, Computer animation, 8 bit video game animation, and Japanese Anime. He calls it "Str8nime". The visuals are absolutely stunning. An electric-techno roller-coaster of a movie, with a soundtrack equally colorful. The imagination of M dot Strange is truly dark and wild. enjoy, and hide your soul, because this film might try to take it.CL