Neighbours

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Release Year: 1952

Director: Norman McLaren

Review: Norman McLaren's best known short film for which he won an Oscar.  He implements a film style called pixelation, which uses live actors in stop motion.  Curiously it won the award for best documentary short, which is peculiar since it clearly is not a documentary.  Its about two men who live happily right next to each other without any problem.  One day, a beautiful flower blooms directly in the center of them.  They both are intoxicated by its aroma and want it all for themselves.  They fight over sole ownership of the flower and quickly devolve into raging monsters.  It is basically a thinly veiled condemnation of war.  It was a strange mix of what the film was going for.  On one hand it felt light and slapstick-like, but on the other hand things turn fairly dark.

One of the most memorable scenes however was really pretty impressive.  Using stop-motion techniques, McLaren was able to make the men appear to levitate.  This was accomplished by having the men jump and capturing them at their apex.  The effect is unusual but it works. I'm not completely sold on the film effectiveness in its message, but it definitely does have a point, and it tells it in a very original way.
Rating: 2.5/5