Showing @ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 8 Feb only

Chris Sullivan / USA / 2012 / 136 min

Nearly fifteen years in creation, Chris Sullivan’s Consuming Spirits is testament to the laborious and intricate process of hand made animation, incorporating a variety of styles: cut out, pencil drawing, collage and stop motion. Its three protagonists, Gentian Violet, Victor Blue and Earl Gray don’t appear to have any real connection with each other but as the film progresses, more is revealed about their shared and interconnected history.

There’s quite a morbid atmosphere, accentuated by frequent allusions to death and decay (an elderly mother, the hit and runs). These blackly comedic moments don’t quite make light of the subject’s gravity but manipulate normal perceptions of it. The humour makes the usually difficult-to-process content more accessible, allowing the frank conversation about the inevitability of age to really sink in. In balance, there are references to life and growth (the garden) giving a cyclical air to the piece, reflecting the cycle of our own lives. Sullivan’s clever use of animation enables him to distort and control the visuals so as to exaggerate certain aspects and by switching between methods he not only keeps viewers’ interest but also enables easy differentiation between the narrative’s threads. Not so much beautiful, Sullivan’s film is a beguiling and entrancing depiction of life’s frailties and the reverence these lives should be treated with.

Showing as part of Manipulate Festival 2013

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