When the child starts chasing the chicken into the field of landmines
This short cell animation directed and written by Francine DESBIENS shows two different families living in different parts of the world.
Within the 4 minute short, it started off as a suspenseful tone with the typical American family playing: the son was playing, the mother was cooking and then the mood changed; the father was making some sort of weapon. In fact, he had a whole stash of bombs, grenades within his shed where he was producing them. Then the scene changed to an Asian home. I'm assuming Vietnamese because that was where the US/Vietnam War took place.
Again, there was a happy family and their house (which was surrounded by a fence and landmines). A mom was taking care of her baby while her two sons were outside feeding the chickens. She had a flashback about the war and soldiers who fought in the war. The America soldiers planted antipersonnel bombs throughout the land. I really liked how the animation showed an entire army planting bombs everywhere. It put more emphasis on how many numerous land bombs were planted.
Later, the father returns with crops on his bicycle. The older son, mother with child go to greet him in the house while the younger son is outside unattended with the chicken pen. Suddenly, he picks one of them up and it starts to run away. He chases it into the land filled with potential bombs. He sets one of them off and it explodes. The whole family watches in horror and surprise. Then the animation goes to the American family eating and talking over dinner. It ended with a depressing, ironic end.
I thought that the animation was meaningful and sad. It's message holds true because in many war-stricken countries in the world, it's a reality that there are landmines everywhere. In fact, hundreds of people die from it every year. I thought it was sad because the son died from innocently chasing the chicken and unknowingly triggering the bomb. However, it's ironic because the source of the bomb is a source of income to support the Western family. Its further irony comes from the fact that the Americans were in the war and they produced in the first place.
The animation itself, was well-drawn. When the mom looks out into the window, the window transforms into a flashback. I thought that when the soldiers were planting the bombs, it was further emphasized by the grid. I also liked the smoke effect when the father carries his child. I liked the animation for its message and I think it came out very strong.
