Educational Media Reviews Online

This disc features three short films (“Beheaded”, “Anglobilly Feverson”, “Jona/Tomberry”), representing the first, second and third films of the “Mind My Gap” trilogy, as well as “Related Early Work”, all by Dutch filmmaker, artist and composer Rosto.

“Mind My Gap” is a sprawling, mixed media artwork that blurs the lines between website, graphic novel, soundtrack and film. No description can do justice to this mind-bending phantasmagoria, it must be seen to be appreciated at the Rosto A.D’s Mind My Gap web site. While decidedly abstract in their narrative and visual treatment, all 3 films on this disc touch on the theme of someone trapped in his surroundings and wanting to escape. Each film makes reference to the online “Mind My Gap” graphic novel at various points along way, with several characters appearing in all 3 films.

Rosto brings his stories and vision to life and pulls the viewer in with a dazzling and seamless blend of various techniques, including line animation, photo animation, narration and caption animation, 2-D and 3-D digital animation, stop-motion animation with puppets and models, as well as live action motion capture in high-definition video. To get a better sense of Rosto’s style, one can view background for all the films, including trailers, story and artwork at the above-mentioned web address.

This is the stuff of Rosto’s dreams and nightmares, with much of the films’ imagery and subject matter alluding to religious and mythological motifs, as well as German Expressionistic cinema (Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, et al.). The result is a rich and multi-layered visual experience that reveals more upon each subsequent viewing.

The other selections on the disc, “Related Early Work”, comprise 6 short films featuring Rosto and members of his band, The Wreckers. As a document of his emerging visual style, these shorts provide both insight into and context for Rosto’s later creations.

The DVD comes loaded with extras, including a “making of” documentary for “Jona/Tomberry”, moving storyboards, commentary tracks and more. And while “Anglobilly Feverson” and “Jona/Tomberry” are both presented here with optional Dolby 5.1, it is worth mentioning that the audio and visual aspects of the entire disc are of an exceptionally high quality.

Recommended for all lovers of animation, as well as visual arts, media arts, and film studies programs.