by MATTHEW HAYS

Anthologies are always a mixed bag, but the cartoon compilations that the Parc has screened over the years have generally approached the sublime. This year’s The Animation Show is no exception. Curated (though that might be too classy a word, come to think of it) by Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head, Office Space) and Oscar-nominated animator Don Hertzfeldt, the mini-fest has an entirely wacky collection of shorts that are both wondrous and nutty.

One of my favourites here was easily The Cathedral, Jacek Dukaj’s marvellous film that features some utterly gorgeous images, most of which are so complex they defy description. But the biggest surprise here is Mars and Beyond, billed as “a history of astronomy and thoughts about life on other planets.” As I screened this I assumed it was a bit of retro fun, but indeed it’s an actual clip from a ’57 TV broadcast that was produced by Walt Disney. At a mere five minutes, it had me transfixed. I saw this on VHS screener, so I can only imagine what it looks like on the big screen. Don’t be an idiot and miss it! The whole shebang unreels beginning this Friday, Sept. 26, at the Cinéma du Parc.

In other news, Secondhand Lions is being billed as a movie that is bridging actor Haley Joel Osment’s evolution from a child to an adult. Does that mean that now that people are talking about him as a grown-up I can start discussing my real feelings for him? Frankly, I’m so over The Sixth Sense, but sitting in a morgue and looking at dead people for a couple of hours seems a far better use of time than watching Lions. This is a maudlin film about life, love and… well, you get the picture. When will filmmakers learn that abject sentimentality and Michael Caine are a lethal combo?

When did New get so old, I ask? I attended the press conference for the New Film Festival on Tuesday and there are, without a doubt, many great films screening at their event, including Dogville and The Fog of War. But goodness gracious! When did Montreal suddenly overtake Toronto in the prude sweepstakes? Golly, I guess Bruno Dumont’s latest film, Twentynine Palms, was deemed too raunchy and shocking (as was Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny, which I ranted about them not showing last week). Yes, indeed, there has been loads of controversy surrounding Dumont’s latest, and many found his road trip to hell a bit too minimalist (it’s essentially a desert movie filled with fucking and killing). But again, shouldn’t Montreal audiences be allowed to get a peak at these movies, even if their quality is questionable? Dumont is a formidable—if rather pretentious—cinematic figure, and as such, deserves to have his movie aired here. And I thought the Ex-Centris was supposed to be about broadening people’s notions of cinema?

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