Death Takes A Holiday. Sort Of.

September 9, 2007 11:45 PM

How To Cope With Death. Fun, short, animated film. If only we could do this with the tax collector.
posted by bwg (18 comments total)

How To Cope With Death is Ignacio Ferreras' first film. Ignacio developed the idea whilst he was one of the Animators in Residence for MOMI, it was later commissioned by Channel 4. Ignacio then approached Daniel Greaves and Nigel Pay, directors of Tandem Films and the result is How To Cope With Death, produced by Lynn Hollowell and Nigel Pay and written, directed and animated by Ignacio Ferreras.

Music:
Oliver Davis

Synopsis
A contemporary allegory offering a modern solution to the problem, which has haunted Humankind since time began.

Story
Death, the Grim Reaper, descends upon a very old woman. She seems ripe enough to be harvested, but appearance can be deceitful; this is one old woman who knows how to cope with death.
posted by bwg at 11:47 PM on September 9, 2007

Deh.
posted by Poolio at 12:20 AM on September 10, 2007

Points awarded for the part with the fire extinguisher. Points deducted for awful synth-brass music.
posted by bicyclefish at 12:23 AM on September 10, 2007

Cute.
posted by Phire at 12:24 AM on September 10, 2007

God it makes me feel good to see someone putting that much effort into animation.
posted by wigu at 4:20 AM on September 10, 2007

That's got a great look to it - the visual style reminded me a little of the Triplets of Belleville.

More of the studio's work on their website under films/short films.
posted by patricio at 4:26 AM on September 10, 2007

If only we could do this with the tax collector.

I'd settle for being able to do it with death!
posted by woodblock100 at 4:54 AM on September 10, 2007

Death takes a holiday severe beating.
posted by psmealey at 7:38 AM on September 10, 2007

The linked short is fantastic, aesthetically speaking.

Ideologically speaking, the video is yet another rehearsal of the idea that death is an evil to be conquered and immortality is achievable and desirable.
posted by mistersquid at 8:13 AM on September 10, 2007

I was thinking the same thing mistersquid: why do so many people assume death would be a sadistic creep with an evil grin? There's such a strange disjunct in our modern relationship with death; on the one hand, we fetishize it, while on the other we ignore and make a taboo of it - while somewhere in the middle, it carries on dutifully playing its part in nearly every single process that gives us life. Is it to be feared? Sure, but only if that fear is a healthy one, in that it leads us to try and understand.

[/plate of beans]
posted by regicide is good for you at 8:31 AM on September 10, 2007

...immortality is achievable and desirable.

If you don't want your remaining years, I'll take them.
posted by DU at 9:02 AM on September 10, 2007

Yeah, I agree. Having nursed some really old people, I know death isn't always evil. For some, it's a friend who will someday take your hand and lead you out of the confines of your failing body so you can be free and peaceful. Not something scary.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:12 AM on September 10, 2007

That was funny. Thanks.
posted by RussHy at 9:13 AM on September 10, 2007

The point being that, in this case, the woman looked like one of miss lynnster's old folk, but was in fact not. If snoozing in front of the TV was a reason for the grim reaper to come visting I wouldn't have made it to 20 let alone 30.

Why is there a supposition here that "old" = "ready to die"?
posted by patricio at 9:16 AM on September 10, 2007

But death doesn't lead you anywhere. There's nothing less free than not existing, and while that might be preferable to being in a badly failing body (among other scenarios), that just means bodies suck, not that death is good.

If someone's going to lead me out of the confines of my failing body, I want it to be an incremental backup service, not entropy. Free to die, not die to free, or something.
posted by Freaky at 10:36 AM on September 10, 2007

Interesting.
posted by nkaujnom at 4:27 PM on September 10, 2007

thanks, bwg - loved the visual style.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:30 PM on September 10, 2007

Brilliant! The style reminds me of "Belleville Rendez-vous", but also a bit of Monkey Dust. Thanks for the post.
posted by Goofyy at 7:26 AM on September 12, 2007