Moloch - Polish Animated Film

[Andrew McIntosh]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD_ly40k6X0

Does come across a bit as an intro to a video game, but I think it's worthy. There used to be a website for this but it's down now. Any information would be appreciated.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

written & directed by Marcin Pazera music & sound Demodoll (Maciej Pazera, Dawid Szweca) animation Łukasz Pazera, Grzegorz Krzysik produced & distributed by Platige Image, Racławicka 99, 02-634 Warsaw, phone +48 22 844 64 74, fax +48 22 898 29 01, e-mail info@platige.com, mk@platige.com, ms@platige.com, www.platige.com promoters Tomek Bagiński, Marcin Kobylecki assistant to the producer Marta Staniszewska
7'20''

Poland 2006
A huge factory - once full of splendour, now just a mechanical space, shrill and cold. In this degraded world, forgotten even by God, Moloch - the mean machine - is the only authority. It wakes the people from lethargy only to induce the worst of the human instincts.

Awards:
Animago Festival 2006: Grand Prixin Professional Animation/ Short Film category


I think audio combined to the animation is pretty good, very industrial/ambient like... until the soldiers enter the picture. I simply dislike so strongly the computer game look of animated soldiers, and whole concept anyways. Never play computer games. I remember 10-15 years ago few times, but just zero interest. When I see modern movies, music videos and animations with kind of look, I strongly dislike them. In this case animation of the scenery and machines worked very authentically. It was like actual footage. If I want to see people animated, I rather would see puppets or old school drawn. Not that I would watch puppet animations that much, but any time I see, it has very bizarre and abnormal wibe on it.

[Andrew McIntosh]

If I want to see people animated, I rather would see puppets or old school drawn. Not that I would watch puppet animations that much, but any time I see, it has very bizarre and abnormal wibe on it.

You'll dig this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqi5F5MqqTQ
- I've already sampled from it but I can't see why no one else wouldn't.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

yes, this is very good. Seen it some years ago.
Animation in the old way has same kind of charm as many of labor heavy handcrafted art. I have very very little interest to flash animations and 3D computer stuff. But lets say if the doll book tribute version of INNOCENCE they did in japan, was doll animation, I would buy it instantly.
Original movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375233/
Japanese art book: http://www.hlj.com/product/ASK31756

The lifeless depiction of human is pretty obscure. This whole jap obsession with dolls that are made to look like young western girls, is something very obscure. Maybe should be own topic for it.

East european animations, usually politically charged, pretty "nostalgic" wibe in them, and also often very experimental. Like this infamous work from '63. It's like collage art turned into life. No stuff for children. Simply listen to the audio track, and you'd hear highly obscure experimental classical music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1cZiyO-No4

[FreakAnimalFinland]

And as addition, but probably needless to say which one I would prefer more. Moloch or Labyrinth. Polish animation, yes, but Moloch with this cinematic dark ambient meets computer game animation violence, and Labyrinth with sometimes even disturbing experimental soundtrack with collages and surrealism. It's almost like comparing listening & seeing of Propergol vs. The New Blockaders, hah. Yes, I know Propergol has it's place and quality which I admit, just like in case of Moloch...  but personal preference...

[Andrew McIntosh]

"Labyrinth" is like a cross between Max Ernst's collages and "La Planete Sauvage". I love it. The soundtrack is just right, too, and sounds interesting on it's own. Movie soundtracks (both the incidental music and the actual soundtracks of the film) are another topic.
I was also reminded of Svankmajer but I'll save that for another thread too.

A friend of mine is heavily into these ultra realistic looking dolls. Japan is something of an epicentre for them, but I know little about the scene. Have you seen the "Guys And Dolls" documentary (I posted a link to it on this forum)? Ultra-realistic sex dolls that men actually fall in love with: Bellmer's fantasy come to life.
But a stop-animation movie with dolls like that, yes, that would be well worth seeing. Haven't seen "Innocence" myself, though: the "viewers' comments" section gave me the best idea of what it's like. I could easily imagine myself squirming in discomfort, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be worth watching (quite the opposite).

By the way, as for Noise comparison between Moloch and Labyrinth, I'd say modern Lustmord vs, maybe, Nurse With Wound. Squeaky clean, ultra professional smooth Darkwave with a fair degree of "modern" influence (like those beats Lustmord uses now) vs cut-and-paste, collage, juxtaposition of surreal opposites.