Balance (1989 film)
Balance is a German puppet animation film by Christoph and Wolfgang Lauenstein from the year 1989. He won the 1990 Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Animated Short.
Action
The film shows a group of human-like figures, apparently slim, tall, gaunt men with no head hair, which are located on a floating square platform. On their backs they carry (apparently random ) numbers, what one can distinguish them. When moving, they must be careful to keep the balance, because the disk is otherwise prone and going down there.
The shapes then slide out telescopic rods and fishing with these from the platform. One character succeeds to assign such a kind of box or chest. From this will sound - similar to a music box - soft music, when raising them. The case slips easily around on the plate, so that the figures have to compensate with their position the weight of the chest, otherwise flip the disk and all would fall down. On the other hand, would like to have the best chest on its own, each of the forms.
As a result, the chest will change hands several times. Finally, the characters fight each other for various reasons fall gradually nearly all down. A figure can still hold it with your fingers on the edge of the platform. But after all the others are fallen down, has a shape that sits on the crate to get up from this and go to the other end of the platform, what it does haste to compensate for the weight. There she meets those hanging shape which just pulls out - and knocking them off their feet, so that they fall down.
One sees now in a long shot that the plate with the shape at one end and the box is on the opposite edge in balance. To maintain balance, the last figure must be based on their position, far removed from the box, remain; eventually fades the music out of the box.
Criticism and background
The film was made at the Kassel Art Academy. With little effort, he produced an eerie, surreal atmosphere. He nevertheless conveys a universal message understandable.
The film was part of the 1990 initiated by the pop group Alphaville short film program Songlines, under which he was backed by the song Middle of the Riddle.
The film is recommended by the Federal Centre for Political Education. In the House of History in Bonn, he runs into an infinite loop at the end of the permanent exhibition. You can visit the figures, box, plate, and the Oscar for this film at the Düsseldorf Film Museum.
For the film balance, the acoustic duo " Piano meets Vibes", a film music composer, which was first performed live on 24 April 2003 in the cinema hope in Lübeck, as part of a tour.
Awards
- Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, presented on March 26, 1990
- German Film Award in Silver in 1989
- Various prizes at international film festivals