RECI, RECI, RECI (1991)

RECI, RECI, RECI... (WORDS, WORDS, WORDS)
Directed by Michaela Pavlatova

This is an animated short that is all about communication. We all have the desire to be great communicators, but how often do we fall short? For me, it's very frequent. I won't go into details, however, because this is a movie review, not a performance evaluation for my life.

“Reci, Reci, Reci” is set in a Parisian cafe where there are many conversations going on. The words spoken are represented by comic strip-style word balloons that take on different forms to show what is being said. A waiter asking for an order becomes a question mark shaped balloon. An old lady spreading gossip becomes a large elephant balloon. A particularly fun part involves a young couple who have just met and have instantly fallen in love. Their words become pieces in a giant puzzle that fit together perfectly. The pieces are accompanied by musical notes, making a fuller and fuller chord every time they speak.

Michaela Pavlatova directed this film, and gave it a style reminiscent of line-drawn animation that was popular in the 60's. It's very stylized. People change shapes easily, and the animation is purposefully unclean. Pavlatova also added a very interesting element—A dog character who runs around and steals everyone's drinks. At first, I though this character was nothing more than a red herring, but I realized that he shows how we can get so worked up in out conversations that we lose sight of the world around us.

“Reci, Reci, Reci” was nominated for Best Animated Short Film. The winning film was “Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase”. Also nominated were “Adam”, “The Sandman”, and “Screen Play”.

This review was written on June 9, 2008