Reflective Encounters

“Life (especially if you’re British) is all about the rules. Of course, the written rules we all know. But it’s the unwritten rules that are the things that keep society going. Those are the things that keep us civilised. Without rules, all that’s left is anarchy.

Animator Jeanette Jeanenne provides a glimpse of situations in which the rules are broken. Allowing your dog to defecate on someone’s lawn. Daring to touch a painting in an art gallery. Of course, these aren’t hardline crimes. There’s no bank robbery or coshing someone over the head for their pension here. Yet – as Jeanenne shows – they still feel dreadfully transgressive. With a protagonist who can only look on in horror when said rules are broken, Jeannenne plays with notions of polite society and how conflict – no matter how measured or justified – is anathema to everyday living.

This is a gently satirical affair, all played out against a world swathed in blue and angular animation made up of bold lines, which gives a certain coldness to proceedings, reflecting the repressed emotions of our protagonists. While subtly amusing, the film is a quietly profound statement on so-called ‘polite’ society.”

— Laurence Boyce