Guy (2005)

Directed by: Erik van Schaaik | 5 minutes | animation, short film

In filmmaker Erik van Schaaik’s short animation film ‘Vent’, music and image merge in a very beautiful way. His two main characters, a man and a little girl, can only be seen in silhouette against a background of rapidly blowing clouds. The screen is bisected by a vertical black bar and the man tries with all his might against the wind from right to left. Van Schaaik has paid a great deal of attention to small details, which ensure that – despite the caricatural nature of his figures – they are nevertheless believable. An example of this is the trembling of the leg when the man exerts force. The stubborn and cute girl, with her two pigtails that only flutter slightly in the wind, is not at all impressed by the weather conditions and turns out to be smarter than her older co-star. She soon comes up with the solution to the problem. It is very comical to see how she manages to outdo the man as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Van Schaaik has only created a space with simple lines, of which the viewer does not immediately realize what it actually represents. The punch line comes, as it should, at the end, and it’s a nice reward. The jazzy score by Ernst Reijseger on cello and Eric Vloeimans on trumpet complement the images perfectly. ‘Vent’ has won many awards at film festivals, including the Prix Fipresci (International Film Critics Award) at the International Festival d’Animation in Annecy. The film was also nominated for two Golden Calves (best film and best music).