Reflective Encounters

“This animated curiosity beckons the viewer with cutout eyes blankly looking down the camera lens. A farm, animals, a gentle, meek man who watches over his herd of reindeer - so far so family-friendly. Soon though, director Robin Jensen undercuts cuteness with gore. In search of the unrequited love he sees whisked off, our hero embarks on an urban city odyssey that reaches back to the silent cinema of F.W. Murnau and Sunrise.

With equal parts sweetness and horror, Jensen uses blocky colour and crudely representative figures to lull the viewer into this dream. As the man comes across a restaurant with a darker side than meets the eye, Jensen satirises the meat industry, environmental anxiety, and upper-class etiquette. The orgiastic vision this descends into, equal parts Society and Caligula, is an indulgence of animated weirdness. As tongues flap like snakes and phallic imagery highlights the horrors of eating flesh, Jensen begins to incorporate still photography alongside his cutout figures to alienate the viewer even further.  It’s entirely satisfying: Farce’s lightning-paced action hits you like a good burger.”

— Ben Flanagan