Short Peace

This Japanese anime anthology, from the creator of Akira, offers four shorts, all of them interesting, and in some cases quite trippy. The first short, the Academy Award-nominated Possessions, is by far the film’s best. I’m not exactly sure what happens in this segment. It involves a traveler staying overnight in a shrine and talking to spirits (I also think it’s trying to say something about hoarding). I can tell you that the animation is awesome, especially when a talking frog does a little song and dance (really weird stuff). Other segments include ancient firefighters, alien robots and majestic polar bears battling big-assed red demons. This is an enjoyable convergence of directors who know their craft, and provides a nice sampling of what the Japanese can do with the art form.

Short Peace is not showing in any theaters in the area.

Directors:

  • Hiroaki Ando
  • Hajime Katoki
  • Shuhei Morita
  • Katsuhiro Ohtomo
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