остров (The Island)

Director: Fyodor Khitruk
Release date: 1973
Rating: ★★★★
Review:

‘The Island’ is a short gag film in which a bearded castaway is stranded on a tiny island.

Khitruk explores this traditional cartoon setting, and brings it into new directions. The man longs to be rescued, but nobody helps him, though the ocean turns out to be very crowded, indeed. In fact, in the end, the man is far worse off than he was in the beginning.

Khitruk’s cell animation is effective, his designs are charming, and his timing is excellent. But the film is more than just a mere series of gags, as Khitruk satirizes man’s aggression, greed, emptiness and folly. It’s signifying that the only person helping the main protagonist, is one who has even less than the castaway he helps. Thus ‘Island’ is more than just a little gag film, it’s a humorous essay on the human condition, and it’s not an optimistic one.

Watch ‘The Island’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘The Island’ is available on the DVD ‘Masters of Russian Animation Volume 2’