SCFZ

Island (Fyodor Khitruk, 1973) vs. Rehearsals for Retirement (Phil Solomon, 2007)

Vote for either xKhitruk or xSolomon

Round ends: March 1, 2020

I enjoyed both of these, but I'd be surprised if anything in the rest of the Cup grabs me like Rehearsals for Retirement. I haven't seen much machinima at all so maybe the novelty factor is part of it, but I was totally transfixed and haunted by it. Island is an effective if diffuse satire of human foibles which I also liked, even if I prefer the animation style that Khitruk used for Winnie-the-Pooh.

xSolomon

Comments later perhaps, but for now:

xSolomon

the solomon is interesting, but right now any whiff of the sad male incel mentality that is dictating uk government ideology has me running shrieking in the opposite direction. so i'll take innocent optimism thank you.

xKhitruk

xKhitruk

xkhitruk (what sally said)

xSolomon

xKhitruk

I'm in the opposite corner as mesnalty. Rehearsals was my first experience with machinima, and I couldn't get past my own questioning of "Why?" Nothing hooked me, and that is probably because I refused to engage. I'll try to revisit again soon.

I enjoyed the charming satire of the Khitruk.

xKhitruk

xSolomon

xSolomon

Hard vote to cast, I almost went with Island but decided to change my vote for Rehearsals after putting some of my thoughts down in writing. Could almost go either way though for me.

Solomon's GTA films are an intriguing development when compared to his earlier experiments with emulsion and celluloid. The haunted and desolate treatment of the 3D environments bring out the surreal nature of the third-person camera navigating the virtual landscape like a specter. The burning planes, empty roads, and cars hurtling into the sea (all collapses of transportation) seem to suggest a fatalistic immobility within this virtual dystopia.

In contrast to the mood-heavy melancholy of Rehearsals, Island balances out the melancholy of its solitary character with an energetic animation style and bright use of color (the sky and the ocean are a unified palette but cycle between white, blue, and other colors for pronounced emotional effect). The satire is perhaps blunt but it's hard not to become involved in the plight of the island's sole inhabitant.

RFR: maybe would've liked this more were it not all pixellated to crud... and had i not spent billions of hours in such games already, with my own thoughts already

island: i really hope this isn't political allegory

xKhitruk

Khitruk wins 6-5