More. by: Mark Osborne (an amazing short 6 min. film)

CJHski

CJHski

Active member
Check out this Short Film.(6 min)

It has won all sorts of awards at a lot of different film festivals. and it was nominated for an Academy Award in 1999

Watch it, Interpret, Discuss

 
Haha this is interesting. i just picked this movie for an art project where we had to interpret the color relationships used in movies. I wrote a paper discussing the role of color as his happiness and inner soul, throwing away his own life in order to save the rest of humanity.
 
you see, interpretation is a beautiful thing because after watching it, i got a completely different message from it than you did, yet something in the film caused you to interpret it the way you did, thats pretty cool if you ask me.

anyhow, i figured that everytime he opened his stomach, it was the fire burning in his soul, the fire that causes people to do things, the fire of invention in his case. what he saw through the goggles when he succeeded in constructing them was the light of success and bliss that comes with it. from that point on, it showed that he began to sell out with his product, exactly like the "get happy" product reverting him back to stage 1. then, back in his office, he opend up his stomach again and the fire had burnt out. nothing was sparking his interest and, in a sense, his passion had fluttered to a halt; that is until he saw the kids on the thing which sparked his curiousity the first time.

from a quick watch and through tired eyes, that is what i percieved the film to be. i'm gonna watch it again though.
 
that was probably one of the best short films ive ever seen, thanks for posting it.i would give my interpretation but im tired and should be studying for a bio test
 
ok here we go:
so i sort of agree with what has already been said, that the fire (or whatever it is, i don't think we really know for sure) is ambition. It's what separates him from the masses; everybody else is just a piece of the machine (this is characterized by their dull color). But whatever is inside of him isn't just limited to Ambition, it could be representing something as broad as Life. Naturally, he wants to find a way out of his endless labor, and he does so using the Bliss Product, demonstrating the human inclination to strive for something more, improving himself and climbing the societal ladder. But his fortune lands him right back in the machine, albeit a more important piece. He no longer feels the need to separate himself from others now that he has success, but realizes that he has lost his own "humanity."
 
also agreed.

i was at a loss for words when i typed my thing. the fire is his ambition. i also forgot to mention the monotony of the whole mass business and part of the machine. good points.
 
I just watched it again and I got a totally different feeling from it. At the start there are the children having fun, and he sees the children. He goes to work every day and hates that, and hates it about himself not being able to change that. He wants the happiness that the kids have, so he tries to invent something to bring this to him.

He can't figure it out, so he tries to put the "happy" product in to see what they've figured out. It doesn't work, and he thinks about it more that night.

After being yelled at while working, he's shaken and in his sadness in that locker he sees focus where the happiness is-- inside him, locked up. So he takes this and puts it in his invention, and sees his happiness, but as success and fame settles in, he loses his love of the happiness, and runs out.

I'll try to watch it not baked tomorrow though.
 
I believe he wanted more in life, hence the title, possibly to be wealthy and no longer be an inferior worker. When his passion and strive (light in stomach) drove him towards a successful product, he finally had everything he wanted. Money can't buy you happiness, and it ended up consuming him, and everything he thought he wanted (more) turned out to be a psychological farce, and that true happiness, can be something as simple as childrens play.
 
wow that was really neat. i think the video touched on the obvious problems with consumption that the world and especially the U.S. faces today in terms of advertising, the estranged laborer, and the product. The fact that they are selling happiness and bliss reflects much of the products we see today (buy this deodarent and youll get smoking babes!, drink this beer and youll have a blast with your friends!) that are aimed to convince the consumer that purchasing the product leads to happiness. Yet in the end the main character finds that true happiness isn't something that can be produced nor consumed, it is something you create and experience with others (children laughing and playing on the carousel). theres so much social commentary packed into that little video, but im heading to bed.
thanks for posting that.
 
this is probably my favorite short film ever made... my interpretation was pretty much the same as what has been said. must have taken so long to make all that claymation, simply amazing.
 
You can interpret the children in the beginning of the movie as himself as a child. It was a time of pure happiness and joy without any restraints in life. He reminisces about his past constantly now that he lives the working life, living in such a gray dull environment. Mark Osbourne does a great job at placing the main character in an environment that would foster insanity, or a need to escape from the real world. The energy, light, or ambition that arises from his stomach is the happiness and that feeling of being alive trapped up inside him. When he places his fingers in the path, they light up, and for a brief second the viewer gets a sense of hope that everything will be alright. The repetition of the scene with the children is constantly running through the main characters mind all day and night, causing him to not sleep at night and to day dream at work. His inability to grab a hold of his conscious state of reality makes him realize the rest of humanity is the in the same situation. They all are living meaningless lives, not happy, not content, just floating through this world like a gray blob. In order to save himself, he designs the goggles to reconnect with his younger, happier self. The goggles turn out so remarkable that he needs to have everyone own one. They are designed to view reality without any hardships, free and wonderful. The immense overwhelming sensation that the viewer gets as he puts on the bliss goggles for the first time almost gives them the same sensation as portrayed in the movie. In the end, he no longer has that happiness inside of him. He wasted it all on saving everyone else that now he is left with only the constant memories that continue to haunt him. He feels empty inside. He gave so much, yet received nothing in return. The bliss product reminds me of an acid trip ( not because of the obvious colors and forms). He finds the power of the energy, and overuses it to the point that it is now constantly part of his life whether he likes it or not. He cannot return to his normal state, and must now deal with the consequences of his actions.
 
my interpretation is that we only work on things we personally care about. like he didnt care when he was making the happy thing but he thought that if he made something from within him it would be better. but at the same time it's about substance to make yourself happy. like in our society today so many kids are on add medication when they shouldnt be and a ton of people drink and do drugs. this film shows the fault in substance. when he dreamed about his goggles he was dreaming about how it felt to be a kid and such. he just forgot that being a kid is pure and there is no substance needed to feel happiness it just comes from your soul. you don't need it you have always had it. whatever it is that makes you happy you can not reproduce it.
 


now watch it again... but mute the original sound and play this song.

flash_video_placeholder.png


 
now that i watch it again, its not as funny with it. if you do, dont start the music till like 3:60
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top