{"id":5676,"date":"2013-02-21T12:56:40","date_gmt":"2013-02-21T20:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?p=5676"},"modified":"2013-02-27T10:21:52","modified_gmt":"2013-02-27T18:21:52","slug":"adam-and-dog-and-expressions-of-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2013\/02\/adam-and-dog-and-expressions-of-grace.html","title":{"rendered":"Adam and Dog<\/i> and expressions of Grace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>If you haven\u2019t seen the Oscar-nominated animated short Adam and Dog<\/a><\/i> yet, you really should. It\u2019s a beautiful, inspired and, in its own way, challenging take on the story of the Garden of Eden, as seen from the limited \u2014 but still keenly felt \u2014 perspective of the world\u2019s first domesticated canine.<\/p>\n

I loved it from the moment it was first posted online two weeks ago<\/a>, and I saw it again a couple days later, this time on the big screen, where it was screened as part of the touring Oscar Nominated Short Films<\/a> program.<\/p>\n

Ben Sachs<\/a> at the Chicago Reader<\/i> notes that the film works very well in both formats:<\/p>\n

Lee often presents untouched creation in extreme long shot\u2014or what would be called extreme long shot in live-action filmmaking\u2014taking full advantage of the widescreen frame to suggest endless open space. Working in vistas also permits Lee and his animators to create impressive locations with relatively little detail; the fields, mountains, and forests of Eden register as imposing shapes, further evoking a mythic perspective. In contrast John Maximillian Repka\u2019s sound design is more particular, employing field recordings of wild environments that imbue the film with a sense of realism. Perhaps it\u2019s the influence of Tarkovsky that inspired Lee to make the most realistic attribute something we cannot see.<\/p>\n

Of the five Oscar nominees for best animated short, this is the only one that demands to be viewed on a big screen. On a laptop, however, Lee\u2019s inspired simplicity becomes more apparent. The design of Adam and Dog owes as much to watercolor painting as to filmmaking; to achieve its full effect, the viewer must add to it with their own imagination. This aptly recalls the experience of first hearing Bible stories as a small child, when concepts like Eden or eternity seemed not just palpable, but warmly inviting.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Amen to all that. And speaking of those \u201cvistas\u201d, director Minkyu Lee, who made the film in his spare time while working on Disney films like Winnie-the-Pooh<\/i> and Wreck-It Ralph<\/i>, gave Cartoon Brew<\/a> permission to post fifteen of the background paintings he used in his film. Here\u2019s one example:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In my original post on the film two weeks ago, I mentioned that I didn\u2019t know much about the religious background, if any, of the people who made this film, beyond a reference that Lee had made to \u201cmy faith\u201d and the fact that one of the consultants, Disney legend Glen Keane, is a practising Christian<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since then, I have found this fascinating interview<\/a> with the Animation World Network, in which Lee says one of the key themes of the film \u2014 a theme to which Keane himself contributed significantly \u2014 is \u201cGrace\u201d:<\/p>\n

DS:<\/b> Right. Tell me a little bit about the tone you wanted to take with the story. Were you trying to play down the potential \u201creligious\u201d aspect of the film?<\/i><\/p>\n

ML:<\/b> That\u2019s a really good question. It\u2019s really interesting you say that because I\u2019ve been getting very different responses in context to and related to the religious themes of the film. Some people have said, \u201cWow, that was a very religious and spiritual film\u201d while some people didn\u2019t notice any religious theme at all. It\u2019s delightful to me to hear such a wide variety of responses for one film.<\/p>\n

I consider myself a man of faith. Because my faith is a huge part of who I am, I\u2019m sure it leads into everything I create and every decision I make. It does color my world view and it does color my art. So inevitably, I\u2019m sure whether I deliberately tried to put it [themes of faith] in there or not, it\u2019s probably there.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want this to be an overtly religious film by any means. I wanted this to be more of a character study, a film that takes an alternative approach to the narrative of an animated film. I worked with two film consultants on the film. One was Glen Keane and the other was Thomas Ethan Harris. I would think they have widely differing faiths. Both approached the film in a different way. I went to Glen a lot to talk about the film. One thing that Glen mentioned, which was a huge part of the film, was the idea of \u201cGrace.\u201d The idea of Grace is such a huge part of my faith. But I think Grace is also a universal element, an idea that is integral to human living. So in terms of the ending of the film, I didn\u2019t want anything to be overt, even the idea of Grace. I didn\u2019t want it to be overtly sentimental or emotionally punctuated. I wanted everything to have this subtle kind of nuance. Glen would use the word \u201cSprezzatura,\u201d which means this kind of nonchalance. I wanted the film to have that. I wasn\u2019t really trying to do anything overt. Amongst my animators, some of their approaches to the film were very overtly related to their faith and some not at all. Ideally, that\u2019s what I want from this film. I want everyone to discover something different when they watch the film. I don\u2019t want everyone to walk away thinking exactly the same thing, drawing exactly the same conclusion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I find this comment particularly fascinating in light of the note on which the film ends. In my previous blog post, I said the film almost seems to suggest that one of God\u2019s creations \u2014 the dog \u2014 might love Adam and Eve more than their Creator does.<\/p>\n

But I would emphasize the word \u201cseems\u201d: in that moment, Adam and Eve have just fled the fallen Eden in terror, and they may feel that they have been rejected, in some sense, by God \u2014 so of course the fact that the dog stays with them is comforting in a way that God\u2019s judgment is not.<\/p>\n

And yet, could not the fact that the dog stays with them be, in some sense, a sign that God is still present in his creation (fallen though it may be) and is thus present with Adam and Eve themselves? Just as God clothed Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness, so too he gives them an enduring expression of unconditional love, as embodied in this animal who stays by their side.<\/p>\n

For some reason I am now reminded of the Terry Scott Taylor song \u2018Molly Is a Metaphor\u2019, which is about a cat, not a dog, but still kind of fits, I think:<\/p>\n