The Kite

Martin Smatana
2019
Slovakia

Synopsis :

While playing with a kite, a little boy and his Grandpa are lifted into the air, pulled high above the clouds. Then Grandpa suddenly vanishes, carried away by the wind!

Benshi's review :

“It’s the story of a little boy and an elderly man.” This very nice stop-motion animated short film promises a lot right from the first images of the beguiling puppets – and it certainly doesn’t disappoint! The layers of fabric around the characters represent their age. Given his advanced years, the grandfather has just a thin strip, whereas the little boy has plenty of padding. Then comes a day when the old man is no wider than a sheet of paper … He’s on to the last page of the long story of his life. Where do we go when we die? For the young Slovakian director Martin Smatana, no one can answer that question – but we can imagine what it looks like, and that’s what he wanted to get across with this film. And it’s worth thinking about – after all, every living thing on the planet will go there some day. The metaphor is intricately woven: along with our two protagonists we fly through the fluffy clouds and when they have to part ways, it’s not the end of the journey. This cottonwool world looks so wonderful it almost make us want to explore it!

Suitable for :

For age 4+. This film deals with a topic that is often difficult to raise with very young children: the loss of a loved one. The very tender way it is handled, thanks both to the soft materials from which the puppets are made and the story itself, means what happens is not shocking and children can imagine the Grandpa going on a big journey.

Top reasons to watch the film :

The wonderful fluffy puppets
To enjoy a nice, especially moving story
To address a tricky issue - the loos of a loved one - in a very gentle way

Additional information :

A stop-motion animation film takes a really long time to make and demands particular preparation. In order not to forget what he did, Martin Smatana made videos of each stage of his process, documenting it in images. As a bonus, he also included a few videos of the preparation of the shooting of the film as well as the making of the sets, filming and post-production.

With his puppets made from fabric and cardboard, Martin Smatana demonstrates his fondness for using different techniques for stop motion. In 2015, he showed this in his first short film, Rosso Papavero. 2019 was an especially productive year for him, as he made A Boy, One Flew, Next and, of course, The Kite.

Version :
No Dialogue

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