Pleasures of War (1998) Online

Interesting animated short on the horrors and circle of violence of war. The animation is quite superb, incorporating real footage with the drawn images. The voice-over, done by a child, is haunting. Mixed with the violent images, you won't forget this in a hurry.

Only complaint, it feels slightly too long. Maybe a cut of one or two minutes might have been a good idea.

This is a film that really encourages you to think. If you get a chance to see this, I highly recommend it. If not for the meaning behind it, then just for the amazing visuals.

7/10

"Pleasures of War" is a British 11-minute short film from the 1990s and soon this one will have its 20th anniversary. Director Ruth Lingford tried so much to make it work: sex, violence, stark contrast between colors and even a mix between animation and live action at one point. oh yeah, the entire film is animated I forgot to say. Unfortunately, it isn't working out well after all. The story is nothing memorable really and I am not surprised to see basically everybody who worked on this has not managed to become really known in the 2 decades since this was made. I don't believe the animation style is bad (of course this is a personal decision to make and completely subjective), but the story it tells does not feel authentic and instead it feels dramatic just for the sake of it. Good thing is that people who don't speak English can still watch it as dialogue is almost non-existent. Bad thing is they shouldn't because this is not a quality film. I personally give it a thumbs down,

A powerful animated short about a woman's effort to avenge her besieged city. Using a primitive, cave drawing-like, animation style with live action archival footage mixed in, gives a raw feeling to the barebones film. The narrative is a bit chaotic, and with no dialog or narration it took a bit of effort to get my bearings on what exactly was happening. The primary motif is a violent mix of explicit sex and even more explicit gore. By the end the message is clear, culminating in a jarring resolution. When forced into a corner, people will do anything to seek revenge. The short is certainly dark, but the underlying message certainly leaves an impression.