Crash (1996 Film)

Claymator Adam Elliot semi-autobiographical short trilogy, each painting a portrait of a different family member, Uncle (1996), Cousin (1998) and Brother (1999), announced the arrival of a fantastic new talent. His first forays into the art of clay, prior to his winning the Academy Harvie Krumpet (2003) by a number of years, are an absolute joy. Although the joy is perhaps not quite the right word, because these stories are sprinkled with rich terribly much pathos.

Uncle (1996), is about an eccentric man and love that Smiley Faces painted with his food and disguises himself as Santa Claus every year, the life force flows gradually sidelined after a series of losses personal. His wife commits suicide, he manages to deal with, but when his faithful dog Reg is crushed by a skateboard, he goes into terminal decline and ends his days in a nursing home.

Cousin (1998), is about Adam's cousin and childhood friend, who suffers from cerebral palsy. Their licorice smell the cake in the oven, nail collection, playing cricket in one arm, the superhero costume on childhood friendship is severely limited by the tragedy, when the cousin's parents are killed in a car accident, and he was taken to live in a group home in another state.

Brother (1999), is the most ambitious of the trilogy, integrating different characters in a story. We are introduced to the mother, who cuts the hair of years and sells pies footie, the crippled alcoholic father who used it as an acrobat, a neighbor with a big head with an aversion to sex workers and accountants, and although Naturally, the brother of a mischievous child with severe asthma and a blackened lens on his glasses. Adam and his brother enjoy kicking the football in their underwear father and watching cartoons on Saturday morning.

Elliot animation style is very economical, with virtually no movement in the frame and the camera does not move at all. What movement is created by editing. We cut from a wide shot of the cousin of a close-up of a jar of toenails and back again, creating kinetic enough to keep pace with the narrative. The color palette is largely made up of gray and black with a splash of color in the background, which corresponds perfectly to the sad and melancholy tales of the great narrative flow of William McInnes.

People come away from this wonderful collection of films with a strong sense of having spent much time with these people. We think we know them. We take care of them. We owe them. Eliot's portraits are so compelling, so enriched the lives that we can even be moved to shed a tear for what was essentially just a piece of plasticine.

A terribly beautiful portrait of our lives.