Pleasures of War

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Release Year: 1998

Director: Ruth Lingford

Review: A powerful animated short about a woman's effort to avenge her besieged city.  Using a primitive, cave drawing-like, animation style with live action archival footage mixed in, gives a raw feeling to the barebones film.  The narrative is a bit chaotic, and with no dialog or narration it took a bit of effort to get my bearings on what exactly was happening.  The primary motif is a violent mix of explicit sex and even more explicit gore.  By the end the message is clear, culminating in a jarring resolution.  When forced into a corner, people will do anything to seek revenge.  The short is certainly dark, but the underlying message certainly leaves an impression.
Rating: 3/5