Short of the Week

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Experimental Christian Schlaeffer

The Return of John Frum

A mind-bending trip through the unconscious loosely based on a polynesian prophecy.

Play
Experimental Christian Schlaeffer

The Return of John Frum

A mind-bending trip through the unconscious loosely based on a polynesian prophecy.

The Return of John Frum

A really exciting independent student animation, creator Christian Schlaeffer managed to find the geek buttons hidden somewhere on my body and hit them so hard that they overrode my brain—which told me that this film makes no f—ing sense.

I don’t think an explication of the underlying mythology helps much, and a primer from Schlaeffer website does only a little. Instead what we get is eye candy  in a hyper-cool and stylized 7 minute piece that seems ripped from the subconscious of a hopped up hippy.

Character designs reminiscent of Peter Chung, (a source Schlaeffer was unfamiliar with) combine with the floating camera, odd perspectival motion and fluid speed of experimental anime (Studio 4°c, being an inspiration he readily admits).

Many thanks to SotW fan Matt for directing us this short. Check it out at Vimeo via the Play link, or download a 1080p version from the website.