The House of Small Cubes (2008) User Reviews

A melancholic short film about becoming old

[charlotteclaireperin · 9/10 · 13 August 2018]

A previous review on this site states my exact thoughts, but I couldn't not write a review about this. The animation is simple, but impressive. It is light, and nostalgic. Nothing needs to be explained and allows the viewer to interpret the story on its own.

I interpret the water rising as a metaphor for getting older, and being unable to go back to previous years (or as in the short film, go back previous floors due to them being flooded). Each floor also gets smaller the higher it goes, because when you are younger, the amount of things or choices in your life seem endless, but once you grow up they are more limited. I don't think the flood was about global warming.

I also think that the man represents the lonelines elderly people experience as they grown older. It is harder to make friends and the people you once had around might not be there anymore. They are isolated from the world and forced to live in their homes or nursing homes. The old man had children but they didn't come to visit them. It is the sad truth that lonelines is a big factor to depression and many elderly suffer from it.

This is why this short is a real tear jerker, because seeing the elderly man light up remembering his life and the people he loved is something we know we might all experience one day.

This was a beautiful film and deserves to be appreciated .

Sunken treasure

[Polaris_DiB · 9/10 · 11 February 2009]

As much an example of the beauty of ever-less-present hand-drawn animation as well as an ode to the slow passage of time, this short film from Japan is an extended metaphor for how things slowly get washed away over time. An old man surviving in his one-room house above the tide drops his pipe into the deep waters that have sunk the foundation of his home up to several stories high. Finding no other pipe suitable as his trusty old one, the man rents some scuba gear and dives down to retrieve it, only to be hit by a flashback of his dead wife. Delving into further rooms, he is hit by memories of the past, all the way back to the foundation of the house itself.

The tone is perfect and firm in this animation, both in the drawing style and the music. The film breathes nostalgia and loss, which can also say something about its old school hand-drawn animation and even to the sepia tones of silent film. It's a love story in reverse, too, as the man goes from a place of isolation and loneliness to a full life filled with love and care before your eyes.

--PolarisDiB

Melancholic animation at its best

[Horst_In_Translation · 8/10 · 4 October 2013]

I really enjoyed this animated 12-minute short film. And so did the Academy as they gave it the Oscar over Pixar's possibly most acclaimed short-film "Presto" and a couple others. The difference may be that, while it was possibly not as witty and fast-moving as Pixar's, it had more heart than on organ bank. Its premise is as odd as it's interesting as we see an old man forced to build cubes up his house (that almost looks like a castle at this point) to counter the constantly rising tide. After he does so, he dives down the house and reaches cubes in which he lived before. This is where he is reminded of significant moments of his past, such as his wife or his childhood. The rising-tide idea to make the old man reminisce deep down in the water is nothing short of brilliant and the memory sequences are quite touching and effective especially with the sudden shift back to present and the man being alone in his diving-suit. A truly harmonic score perfectly fits the tone of the movie.

Also the people behind this short film are quite interesting. Voice actress Masami Nagasawa is only in her mid-20s, but has already been in over 50 movies and Kunio Kato who wrote and directed this little gem gave one of the most entertaining speeches in recent Oscar history. Domo arigato Mr. Kato! It's a shame he hasn't directed another film in the 5 years since then. I'd be thrilled to see a feature film of his, one where the animation is equally vintage and timeless as in this one. I recommend it a lot and I'm sure I'll appreciate it even more when I approach the main character's age.

A wonderful movie about life and loneliness.

[newsgrabber · 17 March 2010]

I don't know why at least two people in other comments write about „flood caused (probably) by global warming".

To me, the flood is purely metaphorical. It's the time that is cruel and forces us to move on, to the next stage of our lives even if we don't want to, because we feel happy where we are, even if we maybe would like to stay there a little bit longer. But we cannot. The rising water forces us to go on. There's no exception.

The old man from the movie travels back in time to watch again the memories of his life but also, as we all know, he becomes aware all those moments are absolutely gone. It's not possible to live underwater – we can only submerge for a moment to have a look at what is there that is all we can do.

This is a movie about life, about being old and lonely, NOT about the global warming nonsense.

The loveliest animation I have ever seen

[Mary_Jay · 10/10 · 25 February 2009]

Until this day I've never wanted to post a comment even on my favorite movies, but I could not help saying a word about this loveliest, brilliant little animation. When I watched it for the first time I had a feeling of warmth, serenity and happiness. I was happy that human beings can still create such beautiful things in this world. I am amazed at how the director managed to put so many feelings and thoughts in this tiny piece of animation and I want to thank Mr. Kunio Katô for doing that. My congratulations Mr. Katô, you've added a beautiful piece to the art of animation :) And at last but not least I want to mention the music of the movie, it PERFECTLY fits every inch of the film and creates a harmonious unity of sound and image. I hope you will enjoy watching La Maison en petits cubes as much as I did :)

A beautiful reminder

[NerdBat · 9/10 · 15 September 2018]

Its clear in the animation that the point of the story isn't the fact that the city is flooding. In my view, the water represents the past, what is flooded is buried in memory. As the old man ages he continues to build upwards to escape the water, which in that sense, represents life. When he drops the pipe, he goes into the water after it. By doing so, he has delved into the past. His pipe represents a sentimental emotion, and by going after it, relives his life from childhood into his present elderly state. The ending will represent, or at least it did to me, the fact that experiencing those emotions again has made him miss his (apparently) deceased wife, and is lonely. His child has reached adulthood and started a life of her own, so what now does he have left? To continue building (living) until he reaches the limit, and ultimately death, which is when there is no higher he can build up.

Very good

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 16 February 2009]

Like last year, I went to a special showing of the Oscar-nominated animated short films. However, unlike last year, in addition to the nominees, several "commended films" were also shown. In this review I'll make my predictions, though if it's anything like last year's choices, I'll probably once again pick the wrong shorts as my favorite for the award.

The film features an old man living alone in a town that has become submerged. His answer to the slowly rising water is to keep building on to his original home--like placing cubes on top of cubes to keep out the water. When he loses his favorite pipe, he dons scuba gear to retrieve it. As he descends and sees the earlier levels of his home (now submerged) he relives in his mind his life and loves. It's all very sweet and sentimental.

I saw this film with a friend and he liked how the scuba diving was a great plot device. He loved the metaphorical aspects of the film. As for me, I wondered if perhaps there was actually a secondary reason for the submerged homes--to draw attention to global warming. He didn't see it and perhaps I am just reading this into the film, though I still suspect the film is trying to preach to the audience about this supposed threat.

The story was slow but very sweet--accentuated by a nice hand-drawn look and the gauze filter used to enhance the print along with evocative music. Oddly, while the film maker is apparently Japanese, the title is French and the art work doesn't really look Asian-inspired at all.

Of the five films nominated, this is probably my third favorite. It was extremely creative and unique, but I still think the award will either be taken by PRESTO or my favorite, THIS WAY UP.

UPDATE: LA MAISON EN PETITS CUBES was the winner this year. Not surprisingly, I got this one wrong but at least saw the film as a strong contender.

Very good and original

[851222 · 9/10 · 11 January 2015]

Gretings from Lithuania.

"Tsumiki no ie" (2008) is a very good short animated movie. The settings, plot are nothing short of amazing. This is a very sad and beautiful story about life, beautiful moments in our life which live only in our memories when time comes to the end. The idea behind this little picture is amazing. No wonder it won Oscar for the best short animated movie.

Overall, this is wonderful little gem that should be watched and appreciated by people who already lived and have some experience in their lives.

Of memory and loss

[llltdesq · 10/10 · 21 February 2014]

This short deservedly won the Academy Award for Animated Short. There will be spoilers ahead:

The short takes place in a world where the water level is rising and people have to periodically build new stories onto existing structures. The focus is on one old man building his new story. During the transition from one story to the next, he drops his pipe in the water.

The old man ultimately decides to go after the pipe rather than replace it. So he dons diving gear to begin the journey through his home to retrieve the pipe. As he descends through the structure, his mind "floods", so to speak, with memories of the past, particularly those concerning his wife.

His memories take him back to before the flooding, even back to his childhood. This short is all about memory, life and loss, all very deftly and poignantly handled. The old man retrieves more than the pipe by the time he returns to the top and his current life.

This marvelous short is available for viewing online and is well worth seeking out. Most highly recommended.

Nostalgia for Love

[daan_drumz · 9/10 · 9 November 2009]

Today I watched a wonderful little animation, upon which I accidentally stumbled. La Maison en Petit Cubes managed to make a dent in the otherwise so rigid structure of my daily pattern.

The theme here is about keeping a grip on your own life adventure; in this case in a very physical way through the stacking of houses over time. The setting is one where (through climate change probably) the world's water level is continuously increasing. As a result of this, people are forced to build on top of their own houses to 'keep their head above the water'. The beautiful thing depicted here is that one's house tells their life story. The old man, while moving his possessions on floor higher for the umpteenth time, dives down into his own memory. As he floats through the old spaces, their stories start to unfold before his eyes. He sees the development in reverse order, starting with grandchildren and ending with the relationship with the love of his life.

On a less joyful note: I couldn't help but seeing similarities with the theme in the Pixar animation 'Up' - which makes me doubt the originality of the latter.

Short as this story may be, it gave me a wonderful insight into the nostalgia that spaces of a home can give, and how brilliant it would be if we would live in a new space every so often, thereby preserving the previous one as a ready-made personal history book.

Well worth twelve minutes.

[averyoda · 7/10 · 6 September 2018]

While the metaphors in Tsumiki no ie are not as deep as the sub-nautical setting, they do not need to be. Everything that "The House of Small Cubes" attempts to convey is clear enough bring about emotion, and concise enough to be understood upon first viewing. Consistent with Japanese minimalism, the animation and art style are both beautiful and elegant. Kenji Kondo's soundtrack; ever withdrawn and ambient, delivers just enough emotional impact at the right points to help the flow of the film while not being overbearing.

Tsumiki no ie is a wonderful twelve minute experience which deserves all of the praise it has received.

An Elegant Simplicity

[atlasmb · 8/10 · 26 October 2018]

Winner of the Academy Award for "Best Short Film, Animated", this gem is a poetic contemplation on the passage of time and how we relate to our memories. The symbolism is simple, the music is similarly simple, and the images feel like flickerings of early cinema. The overall effect is muted, giving the film a tone that feels fundamental and honest.

The simplicity of the film, combined with its lack of words, allows the viewer to immerse in his own reverie as the metaphor of the film unfolds. Like a haiku, this animated short presents basic images and ideas, allowing the viewer to construct his own connections and deeper meanings.

As for the metaphor, the rooms represent groupings of memories based upon stages of life. Moving downward is traveling into the past, the deeper recesses of memory. And the pictures on the wall are the most cherished images/memories that we surround ourselves with for comfort.

What a pleasure to experience this precious piece of animated art.

Life and Reflection

[iquine · 6/10 · 4 August 2017]

(Flash Review)

Using the metaphor of building a house taller as water around it rises, this neat little short is a touching tale of how one keeps working through life while reflecting and holding onto choice memories….in my opinion. Very original animation styles and appropriate music as there is no dialog. Well worth the 12 minutes.

A Sunken Gem of the Film Industry

[Mara-Jade-Skywalker-23 · 10/10 · 27 June 2019]

Intro: The House of Small Cubes is a Japanese short film, and one of the best animated films to come out of Japan, up there with Spirited Away. And frankly, one of my favorite short films of all time. And pun intended, a sunken gem of the Japanese film industry.

The Story: Told entirely through visuals, this film tells the story of a lonely old man, who to save his house, builds it so it's much higher, and rises above the flood waters and shifting tides. And when he looses his smoking pipe, he goes to retrieve, and in the process, relives his past life.

Clearly dealing with themes of loneliness and life, this film does it with such amazingly written storytelling, and moments that got me very close to bringing a tear to my eye. Making it the movie that came closest to making me cry. Emotionally impactful and dealing in mature themes, this film is a master at good storytelling, a film that inspires me in this respect.

The Characters: As I mentioned before, the film focuses around one character. And in this film, he deals with having to relive his past of loosing people in his life, and that by building his house so it's taller, he's leaving behind their memories. However, by the end of the reminded of how it's important to remember them. In what is one my favorite endings to any film. To cut this section short, I love the arc that are nameless main character goes through.

The Animation: Even though the film technically qualifies as anime, the animation style could not be more different from other anime. Having a sort more abstract drawing style to it, the film's animation is unlike anything I've ever seen. And it's simply beautiful to look at. And I would recommend it to people of all tastes because of this. I would recommend it to people who anime, people who hate anime, people who like animation as a whole, or just people who like film, or good stories.

Conclusion: This film is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. It's impacts the audience emotionally, it deals with great themes, the writing is stellar. And it's just worth a watch. So please, give it a watch. And if my review convinced you to look for this gem, maybe the 8.3 rating will. Considering around 9,000 people in total, gave the movie an 8.3, I'm clearly not alone in my opinion.

Take 10 mins out of your day to watch this, please

[mattkerr-73017 · 10/10 · 13 September 2018]

Life is just a game of keeping your head above the water. Whether this is what the creators had in mind when creating La Maison en Petits Cubes (Tsumikinoie), I am not certain. What I am certain of is the themes of life going through a variety of stages, and at each stage you leave something behind. As you look back further, the more obvious about the changes you have went through. At each stage, something gained, or something lost, only a little different than the stage that came before but ultimately, each part leading to the next, when the water rises and moves you onward. Not a word is spoken, but each level of the old mans abandoned haunts holds the ghosts of a different life. The animation and music conveys the sense of melancholy that each of these past lives, as the memories still fresh like ghosts present themselves. We are not left with a word, not a clue about the feelings of the old man as he nears the bottom, as like many silent films we are left to reflect on our own feelings, and how we may look back on our lives as we are living in what, as the protagonist may feel, may be our last cube.

Watched 20 Aug 2018

Gorgeous Film About Age and Loneliness

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 29 April 2019]

A big man in the late part of his life, lives on the top floor of a multi-story house. He actually fishes through a trap door because water has risen so high that his cube is all that is above it. He drops his pipe and goes down in the water to find it. What he finds on the way down are emanations of his life and loves, wife, children, friends. When he tries to grasp the or touch them they disappear. These lower levels are gone forever, never to be reclaimed. But this is what we all face, if we are lucky. Wonderful memories of times we were happy or times we are sad or times we were scared. The music is so pretty and adds a soft touch to the delicate film.

in profound sense, beautiful

[Kirpianuscus · 20 October 2023]

A magnificent parable of life ages like a house , affected by flood, so, time by time, new parts are crafted. A lonely man, looking for his precious pipe, relives sweet hours of past, descinding level by level .

The result, supported by inspired drawings and by admirable music, is just charming, touching and profound useful.

Because it is a short animation about loneliness from a wise angle, offering the fair perspective.

This gift is a real precious one because it is not a story but a travel cross memories of viewer himself.

And this matters, in fact.

A short animation about the houses from heart .