Flight of the Stone 1999
Distributed by Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 800-543-FROG (3764)
Produced by Sultana Films, a film by Susanna Franzel
Director n/a
VHS, color, 15 min.
Jr. High - Adult
Multicultural Studies, Film Studies, Geography
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Oksana Dykyj, Head, Visual Media Resources, Concordia University, MontrealIn the final credits the filmmaker dedicates her film to happiness on earth. The film itself is a creative step in that direction. It is an exciting, giddy 15-minute trip around the world, a slice of life in rural and urban areas around the globe.
Visually, the film transfixes the viewer as the image fluctuates from the continuously moving and soaring point of view of a cobblestone, in its frenzied flight across various geographic areas, to the more static normal speed reaction shots of those people and animals it passes in its travels. The speeded-up pixillation animation technique, used to set the tone of the rushed world trip, gives the feeling of being hurtled across the world. At the same time, the short snippets of quick human and animal reactions to this unusual encounter or sighting are often amusing while giving the viewer a peek at world cultures.
The cobblestone is wrenched out of a German street by a destructive thug intent on violently hurling it to inflict damage but it simply continues through the German countryside and into France. It crosses the Atlantic and traverses the United States. We see Americans in New York City and the various people and places in the South, in the Midwest, the Plains, the desert, the Rockies and the West Coast. The stone then crosses the Pacific and cuts across the many urban and rural areas of Japan, then traverses on through Thailand and then India. It continues into Greece and works its way back up to Germany only to come face to face with its thrower.
The metaphors are clear: The stone has come full circle from being a force of destruction to becoming a force of wisdom and justice. The thug comes to understand as he watches the stone coming right at him that "what goes around, comes around". This delightful winner of the German Short Film of 1999 and Sundance Film Festival Selection for 2000 is an ingenious slice of life in the world, and recommended for Multicultural Studies, Animation and Film Studies as well as Geography for grades 4-12.