A few weeks ago I was given an assignment to critique one of three works of art that were inspired by the alcoholic beverage named absinthe. The pieces of artwork that I was allowed to choose from included a short film, a painting, a photo, and an etching. I ended up choosing the short film for critique due to my reaction after initially viewing it and it really made me think about stories are told. This is because of how the film tells a complex story in a unique way that relies heavily on the audience’s interpretation and understanding of visual cues. The short film that I viewed was entitled Dans Un Café, and it is an independent short animated film by Arthur Jean Roy and Baptiste Palacin. The animated film takes the iconic painting from…show more content… In the background of the scene, the audience can hear the sound of diners eating, drinking, and conversing along with the sound of silverware colliding with plates. Then in a swift and sudden movement, the woman eyes start to partially close and she begins to gaze at a glass of Absinthe and an empty bottle before snapping her eyes back to the table in front of her. A high pitched ambient sound starts to play, which signifies that something is off such as the woman's perception of reality. The woman repeats this action many times before the objects and the table right in front of her begin to move and warp in many different directions. While the table and objects are moving, the sound of dishes rumbling and colliding can be heard along with the sounds of wood creaking and liquid being poured. Then the woman's head starts to slowly sway back and forth and her eyes start to close again, but before she can complete this action she is slightly nudged by the man sitting next to her. This causes the woman to suddenly open her eyes in an alert fashion and stop swaying. The nudge also causes the objects and the table in front of the woman to stop moving and return to their original…show more content… When I first watched the film, I was very impressed by the unique way that the film opts to tell its story. No words are spoken throughout the film, so many of the story elements in the film are told though the movements of the characters and surprisingly the objects showed in the film. The biggest example of this in the film is shown when the woman glances back and forth between an empty bottle and a glass of absinthe which is supposed to signify a sense of withdrawal. The woman in the animation is so addicted to the substance that she can no longer withhold her urge to consume it. Towards the end of the film, the environment behind the woman begins to distort. When I first saw this, I was confused as to what I was currently witnessing. However, after re-watching and reflecting on the film, I came to understand that the distortion of the environment was meant to simulate the sensation of being
