The Cat Piano 720p - (2009 Lang: English)

Кошачье фортепьяно - Эта шедевральная мультипликационная зарисовка приемами изложения происходящих событий напомнила мне полюбившуюся картину «Город грехов». Главный герой, он же главный кот, от лица которого идет завораживающее поэтичное повествование, — романтическая и творческая натура, испытывающая трепетные чувства к белоснежной изящной кошечке, поющей хрупким нежным голосом на сцене. Утонченное пушистое создание, божественное, благородное, покоряющее сердце своей чистотой и совершенством, к которому боишься даже прикоснуться, и которое как будто намеренно противопоставляется всем остальным обитателям сюрреалистичного пространства своей светлой энергией и подчеркнутой «мягкостью» и элегантностью.

За какие-то восемь минут создателям этого чарующего творения удается максимально «вкусно» и сочно раскрыть готическую атмосферу необычного городка, одухотворенные жители которого являются интеллигентными особами с присущей им культурой, образом жизни, возвеличивающим музыку и пение. Это что-то вроде своеобразного культа красоты звуков и мелодий, без которых они не могут существовать!

Однажды затянувшаяся эйфория вмиг обрывается, когда на город опускается зловещая таинственная тень, похищающая голосистых талантов затем, чтобы использовать их в качестве марионеток для своего жестокого эксперимента. В этот момент происходит резкая смена испытываемых зрителем ощущений, от эстетического удовлетворения и комфорта до вспыхнувшей тревожности и страха, угрозы надвигающейся опасности, а также разбитости души и отчаяния. Насыщенные черно-сине-красные тона, детально прорисованные эмоции героев, гипнотический закадровый голос помогают полностью погрузиться в глубину этой страшной изысканной истории.

Итог. Потрясающая мистическая короткометражка с загадочной сюрреалистичной атмосферой, притягивающая внимание своим эстетическим антуражем и мрачным готичным стилем. Любители подобного — не пропустите!

Награды и Номинации:
2009 AFI (Australian Film Institute) Awards - Winner, Best Short Animation
2009 IF (Inside Film) Awards - Winner, Best Animation
Flickerfest 2010 - Winner, Yoram Gross Award for Best Short Animation Film
Festival Cine Junior 2010 (FRANCE) - Audience Prize for Best Film as voted by children 11 years old (and over)
Sydney Film Festival 2009 DENDY Awards - Winner, Yoram Gross Award for Best Animated Short
2009 Melbourne International Film Festival - Winner, Best Animated Short
2009 Bigpond Adelaide Film Festival - Winner, Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film
15 Short Film Festival 2009 - Winner, Jury Prize for Best Animation, Winner, Audience Award for Best Short Film
2009 Shorts Film Festival - Winner, Bronze Shorts Award

Kitten mystery

"The Cat Piano" is an Australian, 8.5-minute short film from 7 years ago and the star here is clearly the narrator, Australian (not a coincidence for sure) musician Nick Cave. Writer and director Ari Gibson and Eddie White have not really been too prolific before or after their probably most famous work, this animated short film here. Sadly, I did not enjoy it too much in terms of the pretentious poem we hear or the all-over-the-place animation we see. Cave's voice adds a nicely atmospheric touch to it, but that really cannot make-up for the massive flaws in writing here. If you still enjoyed it, let me recommend you the German animated feature film "Felidae", which reminded me a bit of it. I recommend "The Cat Piano".

The Cat Piano is an award winning animated short film directed by Eddie White and Ari Gibson and narrated by Nick Cave, not to be confused with Keyboard Cat.

The Cat Piano is narrated by the main character of the animated short, an anthropomorphic cat. It is clear that the narration is a poem, which the poet is typing on a typewriter. In the beginning, we are introduced to his city's love of music and musical prowess. The poet singles out one female singer of whom he is clearly enamored, quoting her singing as "A voice that made all the angels of eternity sound ... tone deaf". Shortly afterwards we are introduced to an overbearing structure beyond the sea, appearing to be a lighthouse. Its light quickly goes out, foreshadowing malevolence.

Singers and musicians begin to disappear into thin air, "Like sailors lost at sea". As police investigate the missing cats, they find human shoeprints. The main character begins to explain the Cat Piano and its terrible function. We are informed that the Cat Piano is an instrument, much like any ordinary piano or harpsichord. The terrible reality is that instead of using strings and hammers to produce the desired noise, the Cat Piano produces noise by striking a nail into the tails of one or more cats that are caged in the piano. Immediately after discovering this, the main character rushes to warn the female singer, and arrives seconds too late.

His heart broken, the city falls to pieces around him, fights break out, and music becomes forbidden. For a short while, the poet is tortured of thoughts of The Cat Piano, and can't get the sounds of screaming cats out of his head. He motions shooting himself with his hand, and with the word "Snap", we are shown a glimpse of what appears to be a nightmare. In this nightmare, a dark humanoid figure holds up a cage with the afformentioned female singer and pricks her with a needle. The poet wakes up in a cold sweat and decides to take action. He observes the lighthouse from a hill, which now casts a red beam of light, and he can hear the terrible screams of the cats from a distance.

A makeshift army of the city's citizens is shown behind him. He and the army head over to the lighthouse in boats, and upon their arrival begin to scale the lighthouse. They break into the lighthouse, and we are given a glimpse of the mad pianist. The instrument he is playing resembles more of an organ than a piano, but nevertheless it is a terrifying torture machine equipped with hundreds of needles. The poet meets eyes with the singer, who is placed at the very top of the organ. The man playing the organ turns around, and the army of cats attacks him. They bite, scratch, and claw at him until he stumbles out of a window and falls to his death.

They free the imprisoned cats, set fire to the lighthouse, and leave with the prisoners for home. The mood immediately becomes lighthearted again, as the city regains its artistic merit. The poet is sure to point out that he is no more famous or revered as he was before the incident - just an "anonymity". He is just glad to be able to listen to the sounds of music coming from the streets. As he finishes his typing, just before the story ends, the singer he was enamored with is seen in his room. She walks over to him and affectionately strokes his chin, implying a happy ending for the poet.