WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Ages and eras come and go, inventions arrive, technology moves ahead at breakneck speeds, and the human condition slowly but surely aims to find further growth and advance in a way which benefits mankind, despite our current world’s attitudes about so many facets of its existence moving backwards. Yet, can it not be said that over such timespans, one challenge and truth has remained constant–the indomitable image of the woman. It’s a undeniable fact of mortal existence that for everything attributed to the male sex, there exists the female, though so often, sadly, lessened in importance, worth, skillset, strength, and emotional fortitude. Do we not see, when looking through history though, the actual power of the female persuasion?
As such, times they are changing, and the female in form and significance now shines forth in a new and far more acknowledged way throughout the span of time. Covering a myriad of professions and now, even more so, creative mediums, women are making a larger mark on our culture that is long, long overdue, mainly in the amount of outward acceptance and appreciation that’s been garnered from it all. But, this arrival has been a road fraught with seemingly infinite hardships and sacrifices that had to be overcome to reach the pinnacles of triumph we have finally opened our long-veiled eyes to. This is emphasized as images of the enigma that is woman flash before our gaze, as a flurry of unintelligible words become clearer, speaking empowerment.
Next, my Mind:
As it is a part of this year’s Berlin Liberi Film Festival, there is such a wonderfully vivid, stirring, suggestive, expressive, and even haunting validity and steadfast belief found in the eighty-seven seconds that make up Belgian director/animator Marijke De Belie’s indie animated short film project that infuses basic utilization of voiceover and artistic renderings to bring across a highly relevant narrative theme which so befits not just past world history, but the present day when female empowerment and the contributions of women in the arts as well as the corporate world and beyond is so prevalent and necessary. It is not a common understanding, at least to this reviewer and my experiences in speaking with the general moviegoing public, that so much can be communicated via film when it’s executed with intent, precision, and creative flow in a very abbreviated interval of time and still have great influential impact upon the viewer.
Therefore, it is important to realize this effort is a beautiful example of exactly this concept, especially from a visual aspect, though a truly imaginative, original, intelligent depiction of the history of women illustrated by the use of Belie’s direct animation via a black aquarelle pencil on a white wood surface to paint an uncomplicated tapestry of position, profession, religion, and overall perception, then overdubbed with what is initially a cacophony of words that slowly fade into singularly powerful statements of what a woman is, can be, and should be seen as, completing the effort’s purposeful ambitions, aspirations, and objectives to be communicated to the viewing audience. The fluid motion by which the penciled imagery flows, while quick-paced and ever-changing, still remains focused, striking, and dramatic in effect as it so deftly covers the thematic elements presented.
With no actual live-action actors present, the credit to voices is what are needed here, and those duties are handled well and lucidly by Tamara Rosseel and Linet Carrillo. In total, “Femimam” stands out, as mentioned above, in its totally compressed runtime yet potent, pertinent, timely message about the female gender, its role throughout history, and the culmination it leads to in this modern era, doing so in an uncompromising and uncomplicatedly gifted way so as to still bear the thought we should get used to in the film world, indie to Hollywood, and going forward overall–“I am woman. Hear me roar!”. Meaning received, and, we all should all see now, believed.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
