Sick Product of a Sick System

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

maybe, it is more than a masterpiece. for refined construction of levels of story. for the hard work of a great team. for message. and for memories. for the end. and for the deep poetry of story. a story of love. not ordinary. full of dramatic situations. and convincing. like a parable. or, just like a trip across memories. a film remembering , for me, the Petre Ispirescu fairy tale "Youth everlasting and life without end ". sure, not same end. but the same essence.

I watched this film for the first time today and it was not by chance. I knew of this film as I have seen some other films made using the open source Blender software and I was aware that this film was not only made using that tool but that the whole film is open to be used and changed by anyone who wishes to do so. The irony of this is that currently the film has been removed by YouTube due to a copyright claim by Sony that the film somehow violates their property, a situation that tells me Sony used part of the film (music or otherwise) and are now claiming it as their own, thus entirely missing the point of what this film and others like it are trying to do.Hopefully this will be resolved although it is depressing to see that even the suggestion of infraction from a corporation sees the project removed. Anyway, in terms of the film itself, away from such controversy, the narrative sees a young woman travelling alone deep into the mountain and into danger. An encounter with a bandit leaves her injured but rescued by an old man, to whom she relates the reason for her journey – a journey which begins with her finding an injured baby dragon some time before.The headlines all relate to the technical aspects of this film so it is worth saying that the narrative engages too. It is a solid tale that draws you in but is built on darkness. It is a combination that doesn't totally work and although I applaud the ending for going in the direction it did, it is brutally harsh just to drop that on a viewer. Technically the film is very well made, the animation is great and it is hard to believe that it was made outside of a large studio – not only is this cheering but it actually works and looks great throughout.Sintel represents another step forward in the idea of the creative commons being a positive and collaborative idea and Blender in particular being something about moving forward; however this is not to say that this is where its value comes from because really the short stands up on its own, looking great and having a brutal but memorably brave narrative too. If there was ever a greater example of the need to support such projects, it is the fact that Sony have challenged it for taking their property.

A ginger girl makes her way through a snow mountain pass when she is suddenly attacked by a stranger. She manages to kill him with her spear, but collapses shortly afterward from exhaustion. We see her wake up in a shack where she tells the old man who found her the story of her special connection to a dragon baby she found with an injured wing and managed to heal it. However, when she was about to release it into freedom, it got caught by a fully-grown dragon and abducted. Since then, she was on the lookout traveling places everywhere to find and free her little dragon.This flashback is finished around the seven-minute mark, when half of the film is over. Sintel recovers in the stranger's shack and moves on with her destination shortly afterward. Finally, she enters a cave where she finds the large and the small dragon. But things are not what they appear to be. I quite enjoyed this short film. The animation is very video game-like and the highlight of the film. The story is sweet and sad at the same time. My favorite scene was when she found the baby dragon for the first time and how she got it to trust her until they finally built a strong bond. I'd love to see Lodewijk and Levy reunite one day for a full feature, maybe even starring Sintel. Very much recommended. One of the best animated short films of the 21st century.

To imagine that all of this was created from scratch is remarkable.The score was very well done as was the foley.Halina really came through and I was so impressed, I had to find out who she was. Amazing to shine as an actor through a 3D animation. She did it!For the filmmakers and artist to take this on and to get it done for future artist is admirable. It gives hope to other artist and filmmakers.I would not recommend the film to children but maybe the filmmakers will do another film just for them. I hope they do.The director's attention to detail was also noted.Great job!