THE BETTER ANGELS
DIRECTED BY MICHAEL CUSACK
AUSTRALIA // 2021
13 MINS
A young soldier trying to escape the horrors of war, finds an abandoned house and within its walls the stories of what might have been.
Reflective Encounters
“Michael Cusack’s film is a dark and sober war-time tale, notable for its striking monochrome photography (credited to Richard Chataway). It’s refreshing to see stop-motion animation that commits to the medium’s textural qualities, and particular praise should be given for the prop-making. The film’s central location, a bombed-out building, has the tactile feeling of a lived-in environment: splintered furniture and sooty objects litter the floor. Special attention has also been paid to the soldier, whose puppet has a pleasing rag-doll quality.
The environment’s physicality lends itself to the performance at the film’s heart. The animator carefully handles a convincing portrayal of a lost figure on the frontlines. Intricate sound-design (by Justin Astbury) adds a further sense of presence to the period setting, supplying weight to the house’s creaking floorboards and rotting wood. A phantom presence of the soldier’s partner feels somewhat typical, but the use of live-action (or rotoscoped) performance is intriguing. Casting a long shadow, the impact of world war defines all that came after. It’s interesting to consider what such a seismic event could mean to modern filmmakers. Does the current fascination with this specific period signify an acknowledgement, or avoidance, of the crises of the present?”
— Chris Childs
Filmmaker Q&A
A Q&A with filmmakers from the If Walls Could Speak at Encounters Film Festival 2021.
Filmmakers - Daniel Benjamin Gray (Hide), Anna Theil (Schtum), Mikolaj Janiw (Coffin), Maren Wiese & Petra Stipetic (jeijay), Ronan Mackenzie (It's Raining, It's Pouring), Michael Cusack (The Better Angels), Gabriel Böhmer (Gyroscope) and Marcos Sanchez (Grey to Green).
Hosted by Ben Mitchell, Encounters Animation Selector.
Director’s Statement
The Better Angels is essentially a story about futility and lost potential.
Filmmaker Bio
Michael Cusack was born in Manchester in the UK and moved to Adelaide South Australia when he was 11 years old. His first major award was an Australian Film Institute Award in 1985 for the short film Waltzing Matilda.
In collaboration with his Producer, Richard Chataway, he was responsible for setting up the animation department at the South Australian Film Corporation.
Since then Michael has forged a flourishing career as director of both high end television commercials and a growing number of award winning short films. Michael has received the prestigious Master’s Chair Award from the Adelaide Advertising and Design Club a record six times and, together with his producer Richard Chataway, received the President’s Award from The Adelaide Art Directors for outstanding achievements in TV/Cinema.
In 2002 he was made an Honorary Member of the Australian Cinematographer’s Society in recognition of his contributions to the National Film Industry.
In 2006 he was again awarded an AFI for Best Short Animation for his film Gargoyle. He has recently been made a member of the Australian Cinema Pioneers. He has received numerous other awards and nominations over his long career.
His film, the highly acclaimed Sleight of Hand picked up thirty six national and international awards and was eligible for consideration in the 2014 Academy Awards. His film After All was in the International Competition in Annecy. Upon completing After All, Michael embarked on a new challenge... making a stop motion comedy film.
The result was Meanwhile, at the Abandoned Factory... a spoof on the cliff hangar TV serials and movies of the 30's and 40's. Michael was recently the subject of a major retrospective of his work at the Melbourne International Animation Film Festival.
Michael is frequently in demand as a speaker and has been invited onto the judging panels of many major commercial and film festivals.
His latest film is the poignantly beautiful, The Better Angels finished in 2021.