From Inside (2008)

Directed by: John Bergin | 71 minutes | animation | Actors: Corryn Cummins

In the eighties and nineties of the last century, the comic developed rapidly from pure entertainment to a real art form. Especially in Belgium, France and Italy, new generations of cartoonists were given plenty of opportunities to express their drawing talent, in mostly realistic forms, each drawn even more beautifully than the next. The stories often took place in the future or in another world and what many of those comics had in common was their extreme and dark nature. Women were overly voluptuous and men overly violent and the world of the story was often quite rotten. The elaboration of those stories was also mostly secondary to the impressive graphics and the dark message: this world sucks and it doesn’t get any better.

John Bergin’s film is exactly along this line. His references to those futuristic, realistic comics are very direct; parts of his film are not animated at all, just still pictures. And although it takes some getting used to, it doesn’t bother you, because what needs to move moves and the rest is illustrative. There are also no dialogues. Cee, the main character, tells her story in narrative form, with a voice-over. Thus, the film is more of a story with pictures, or a radio play with images, than a standard animated story. And those pictures are gorgeous.

All this evokes mixed feelings. As a viewer you are confronted with very beautifully designed misery in a pitch-black world. You enjoy the beauty of the graphic work, but the message hits you like a hammer. That requires strong stamina, not least because of realism; you can imagine that it will go like this, unfortunately. Yet there is also a positive side to humanity and connectedness and the title also refers to the fact that happiness does not come from outside but from within. However, that truth is difficult to defend in all the rottenness that you get poured out on you and that is exactly what Cee struggles with.

The form of ‘From Inside’ is fairly new. Besides the fact that the characters are not spoken and hardly moved, Bergin also uses different drawing styles together. First of all, the images, in which the background and main characters are stationary, are in themselves a daring choice. Then you have the animated images, usually from the computer, where the maker has reasonably succeeded in mixing the two styles unnoticed. And thirdly, there are the real elements, not drawn, that sometimes show up, like real blood and water. It all works well and enhances the film’s artistic value without being too artyfarty.

A world that seems to have come to an end, from which all hopes and pleasures have been withdrawn, does not make for cheerfulness. You must be interested in that. It is largely made up for by that impressive design, but remains a moment for viewers who have a positive intention with this world. However, for people who can handle the dark message and are open to the visual beauty, ‘From Inside’ is an absolute must.