Horse (EOTWS)
End Of The Week Shorts #22 extract: Horse (2014)
A spectacular showcase of animation, editing and experimentation, Horse is a surreal mesh of images that imply abstract themes of impersonation, conflict, violence and illusion. In such, this short seems to use repetition to slowly move through time, implying the cyclical nature of these themes as we hurtle towards what is ultimately an image of a ticket and then triumph. Do the two figures - the front and back end of a pantomime horse - then fight amongst one another to see who is the better? Or do they merely break out of their disguises and put on a show that they are the primary people to profit from? Or, is this is an amalgamation of this implication of a battle between oneself as well as a show of self-destruction put on for attention? Assuming the latter, this seems to be about the concept of in-fighting between any unit made up of more than one person. It could then be about a relationship, a family or even a larger community. And in turn, it questions the point of the fighting and the illusion of unity, the pantomime horse, itself.
Whether you question all of this, or simply enjoy the animation, Horse is a film to check out:
