|
I'm admittedly a little
ashamed of myself that I'd never actually heard of Koji Yamamura until I
was sent the DVD screener for "Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor," and I'm
saddened that I haven't heard too much about the man. After viewing many
of his short films in the two hour compilation of his brilliant American
and homeland short films, it's pretty entertaining to see such an
amazing artist given his own deluxe edition DVD that offers a look at a
surrealist artist who managed to perfectly combine hand drawn animation
with computer animation to tell stories that were emblematic and
absolutely challenging to the audience. For the first time ever we're
also given the twenty minute short film entitled "Franz Kafka's A
Country Doctor," a dark and dread filled little gem adapted from Franz
Kafka's short story about a country doctor's descent in to madness and
his perception of the world that's skewed by his lingering bouts of
madness, and grief. "A Country Doctor" relies on symbolism and a strong
sense of insanity to convey the emotions of this doctor whose own skills
as a healer hasn't been affected until his own insanity comes in to play
and begins to distort the world around him. His eyes tell a different
story than his reality does, and nothing in this short is precisely what
it seems.
|
Particularly
when his own doubt comes in to play that shrinks his head on
numerous occasions, while also growing to enormous masses on
others. He's also haunted by the ghosts of children, one of
whom is on his death bed. Perhaps his life spent on guilt
for not saving certain children has finally sent him in to a
downward spiral, hence being tormented by a farm couple
begging him to save their dying one fateful snowy night.
|
|
 |
Using perceptions of
focus and constant plays of foreground and background focus, "A Country
Doctor" is a untamed visceral experience that will take at least five
viewings to completely soak in and dissect. Though no one solution is
apt in this world the doctor lives in. Along with his Kafka short, there
are various others including one of my favorites "The Old Octopus" about
a symbiotic relationship between an octopus and a crocodile that
inevitably boils down to cannibalism, and "Kids Castle" a five minute
short that dabbles in to the limitless realm of a child's imagination.
With shorts ranging from Yamamura's most iconic to right down in to the
mid-nineties, this is a collective work for animation and art house
buffs and one I had a thrill sitting through. Attached to the DVD as a
special feature is a fold essay from Koji Yamamura.
It's always refreshing
when I can stumble on to a master's work and discover a new dimension to
the animation medium that I haven't quite dabbled in yet, that deserves
as much of an audience as anything else on the market. "Franz Kafka's A
Country Doctor and other Fantastic Films by Koji Yamamura"
is a marvelous DVD release and one you owe it to yourself to explore if
you fancy yourself an animation buff or cineaste.
|
