Fresh and Exciting

Captivating movie !

A Disappointing Continuation

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

I can't believe I just discovered this movie a few days ago. It was also hard to look for it because there was also another movie named "Nocturna." Not much is also posted about this movie in the internet but I hope this will be more known soon because it's a fantastic tale.I would disagree with one of the earlier comments which said that it's the Spanish version of Monsters Inc. because this one is quite different and is an unusual tale. There are also some scenes in the movie which reminded me of some movies of Studio Ghibli but I would say these things that reminded me are the style of the art and the feeling you get when watching a great movie.Thus, this will definitely be in my favorite movies list and I will probably recommend this to other people because this is not what the negative comments speak of.

What happens when you expose hundreds of years of fairy tale storytelling to one hundred years of Socialism and 30 years of Euro Bureaucracy? Nocturna happens, that is. This is definitely no Studio Ghimli story, no Neverending Story, no Strings or no City of Lost Children, even if the authors do try to rip off from these movies massively. But the sum of all these parts is way worse than any of these parts.You may also think the movie rips off from Woody Allen or Kafka, but there is great difference: The authors DO LOVE bureaucracy. The whole Nocturna seems to work as European Union bureaucracy machinery, nothing happens by random chance, there is well respected hierarchy and little interest of solving the issues of "other departments". No one seems to give a damn about the problems that have not been entitled to him by order from higher ranks. In contrast to dystopia movies like Brazil this machinery is displayed as positive. It is even more OK to have bossy boss of this machinery, who actually rules it more like a king than the CEO. We are supposed to be happy to be cared for and nurtured by this institution. Everything is planned, even the individual revolt of Down-syndrome ugly boy is according to the plan. (He is particularly ugly, he has not only huge hole between upper front teeth, but his upper jaw seems to be also broken, because left and right part of it seems to be animated independently. Yuck!) There is no "evil" there, no enemy, only misunderstanding of Down-syndrome boy who created mess basically by not believing in the power of Nocturna bureaucratic machinery. He simply has to comply, he has to find his proper place and all then goes well, the ranks of the bureaucrats may go to sleep, because after busy well managed night there must be good rest for the hordes of bureaucrats. The next night might be horrible without their ever loving care! Or there might be revolt of some Nocturna work union that would lead to the chaos. We would be lost forever without The Socialist - Bureaucratic Management.I do not see why someone can see such story as amusing. I do see it really frightening, it creeps me out. What is even more creepy is the fact that this Kafkaresque machinery is presented to the children as something positive, even if it does nothing to the solution of the problem. We should love The System anyways! The message is horrible and the characters are ugly. What a piece of junk! I'm sorry for the children that will be forced to see this grisliness. I would definitely throw it to the garbage bin and give them almost anything from Studio Ghimli instead. These Japanese movies are not only far superior in animation, but they do have really good and powerful stories. Nocturna has no such qualities at all.

Nocturna is one of the best animated films I've seen, not just recently but ever. The animation is some of the most beautiful-looking I've seen from any animated film in a while, and I say this as a huge animation fan, with colours especially that have a perfect mix of Gothic atmosphere, surrealism and warmth. The music score is enchanting too, sparkling and adventurous, while the story is original in concept and very creative and simple with an appreciative message, the writing is is dynamic and never cheesy or stilted and the characters are both memorable and appealing, Tim is cute but never in a cloying sense, you actually do root for him. The voice work is wonderfully professional.So all in all, a gem of a film, not just animated but of film in general. 10/10 Bethany Cox

After downloading this movie I am going out to buy it on DVD. I was very pleased with it.A Spanish - french production that portrays the more than typical story of the little boy afraid of the dark. Tipical? Maybe. But after you watch it you can be sure to be submerged into a childs world of spookiness and pure visual poetry. The story unfolds as stars start disappearing. So the boy meets the cats shepherd, whose purpose you will learn during watching this delightfull film, who will help little Tim (the boy) to go on a journey throughout the night. As the world is being devoured by what Tim fears most. He must struggle together to save the night. I wouldn't say a touch of Tim Burton, but definitely this typical french and Spanish touch of Gothic visual in which nothing is straight but curvy and angled. A very pleasant eye catcher is the architecture of buildings in this little piece of art. It is what makes the whole ambiance plus the different light scalings and brightnesses. This movie is mostly in a blue tone which emphasizes more the suspense of darkness.In the end it unfolds to be very predictable somehow but still a Wow for the lovers of old visual poetry as I use to call it.Reminds me of summer nights looking up in the sky and staring at the stars with a full moon and some nice mellowy clouds.