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Powerful
For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
The English title for this is THE OTHER SIDE, though this isn't indicated on IMDb. It's a very well made and clever animated film--one that is well worth seeing. The thing I liked best about the film was the great animation. While it wasn't the best looking film I've seen, it's so unique that I really appreciated that it was trying something different. It had a rather Russian look (no surprise, since it is a Russian film) and its bright colors (later in the film) were refreshing.The film begins with a couple worms crawling about underground. Eventually, after lots of crawling, they break through the surface and see the gorgeous great outdoors--and then a very ironic and funny twist occurs (I'll leave it up to you to find out more when you see the film yourself).Overall, original and clever.
This film is a perfect example of how beautiful Russian animation was, and still is. Following two earthworms through whatever adventures earthworms may live in a Russian animated film, this is one of the most beautiful short animated films I have seen. The color palette used through the film, the animation, the humor, the graphic identity, the music by Michail Meerovich, all the elements are refined and crafted in a way a work of fine art would be. It is sad that to this day there is no DVD or VHS anthology of Russian animation, because this film would deserve to be shown to wider audiences. The graphic elements of the film reminded me of a children book I had when I was a kid called "The Little Worm Book", the expressions of the worms and their representation is similar. I would also advise whoever liked this film to try to see the oil paint animated "The Cow", 1989, Russia, 10 min, Colors, by Alexander Petrov, or "The Hedgehog in the Mist", 1975, Russia, 10 min, Colors, by Youri Norstein.
