Imdbidia

Eggplant is an unique film in format, narrative and themes. It is filmed using 2D animation, not the uber-ubiquitous 3D, shot in bold flat colors.The story is not usual cute gag that means nothing. This is the story of a girl who doesn't fit because she was born different and expresses her emotions quite differently from the rest of people. It could be an autistist, or a girl with one of those odd syndromes, any of those. Eggplant is what people like the character say to smile, instead of cheese.The story goes back and forward in time narrating how the character is born different, feels different, is treated differently and feels lonely and alienated. How she needs to fit in in society, and how she learns the social codes and clues to express herself in a way that is understood by others so she can fit and connect. We also see her fitting too much, getting lost in the fitting and forgetting how unique and special she is.The unusual imagery, the dizzy editing, the jazzy narrative are all put together to enhance the story of this odd girl and to allow us to experience how odd is the world for a person who experiences the world differently. I liked that we are presented with the story told by the girl, and also by the person doing a report on her life.Perhaps the only "but" I found was that the story didn't touch me emotionally. However, this is an excellent film with an original narrative, a powerful message, that explores a difficult subject in a very arty way.

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bob the moo

I am not sure I have ever had to process really bad news – I am lucky perhaps, but most deaths have been timely, few accidents have been overly serious, but generally I do find that my reaction to bad news is to have a slight smile. Watching Modern Family recently there was one character who struggled with this too (well, for the purposes of a plot in one episode) and likewise with this short I felt that connection. For me it is probably a denial of the bad news, mixed with disbelief, but for the character in the short it is a total reversal of all normal feelings.The film explores this in a visually interesting way, with the character taking us through this in moments from present and past. On one hand the film does play like a student animation (ie a bit abstract for the sake of it, almost like it doesn't want 'normals' watching it), but at the same time it takes such a concept and makes it easy to understand. At its heart it is about fitting in (or not fitting in rather), and it does have a solid conclusion to it that does allow the viewer to take away more than just the impression of style. It does of course deliver in that regard too, and it looks great throughout – but it is also nice to see an animation that does this, has an odd concept, and yet also is accessible and easy to connect to.

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