Zoetrope (III) (2017) User Reviews

Looks great, if only the subtitles synched up.

[jamtarts1-37-93282 · 2 February 2019]

I really can't speak to film itself, rather the rating is based on the fact the subtitles via Prime Video which either didn't synch up with the characters speaking, were delayed, or an entire sentence was flashed for a split second making it impossible to read. A shame because the film looked really good/interesting otherwise. Hopefully at some point I'll come across a version with subtitles that allows one to follow the story in its entirety and I will give it another shot.

A beautiful, philosophical jaunt through visually packed and imaginative short stories, while accompanying two cleverly-crafted robots who could be any of us

[fineartstar · 10/10 · 11 November 2019]

Wow! I am so happily bowled over by this film! As someone who comes from a diverse background (art, theatre, music, animation) it is unusual for me to experience so many elements from so many things I love all at the same time! I will try to joyfully describe some of them to you: The momentum is directed by us getting to know and following two robots who, while named "first" and "tenth," both have a tenuous grasp on who's in charge, what it entitles them to (or not), and what their mission is. But they are not unsympathetic or unfun - they both are easily relatable, and there is a lot to watch in the cunningly designed mechanizations of their movements and speakings as we accompany them. Through their best attempts at following through with their mission, they encounter little vignettes as they go, and we the viewer get to see what they see, and hear what they think, as they try to piece it all together, and wonder aloud at why the stories have been placed in there at all. They encounter a skeletal being creeping along a rocky path, attempting to keep it's trajectory going while other curious Alice In Wonderland/surrealist/sci-fi-fantasy creatures come carreening down the path at the same time, a satyr and its supposed prey that has the tables turned on it and its hopes, and a determinedly-packed and ready-for-his-next-big-adventure everyday guy, who finds himself a little stymied in getting to his next step (helloooooo Waiting For Godot reference here, yay!), among other scenes. As the two robots continue their explorations, they also find they are being chased by "something," and may or may not have lost their way OUT in the process. In my humble opinion, this animation is a thoughtfully-crafted, gently humorous exploration of what it is like as a human to be born into this beautiful but enigmatic reality we call life, with a few quiet comments on things like cruelty, selfishness, and war. As such, I don't believe it is a good story for kids, unless you have a precocious and sensitive reader in your group - they'll really appreciate this - but the others might find it distasteful, shocking, and too "out-there" for their contexts, with some of the images about war being disturbing. On the other hand, though, if anyone enjoys brightly-colored, vividly-imagined, well-observed philosophical thoughts on what it can feel like and seem like sometimes to be human, this will tickle their fancy IMMENSELY, and may even be the source of discussions about the many references that can be picked out and enjoyed.

Primus reminds me of Putin while the other robot, Trump!

[m_winship · 9/10 · 20 January 2019]

While writing a review tonight about this bizarre Italiano film, I must say our two protagonists remind me of Putin and Trump. Replete with toupee and pudgy green body shooting money lazers. I'm perplexed at the meaning of this film, so I'll pretend it's cinematic genius and go from here, or there? Two robots - Primus and Decimus have to go through a labyrinth that is full of extraordinary objects. To find the right way or sometimes just to satisfy their curiosity, they examine and recover the stories of the objects. Thus they face strange characters, pursuing their aims. Sometimes the pursuing is impetuous; sometimes it is painful and desperate. Again, I remind you of our two world leaders that take us on the journey of zoological cornucopia of madness and insanity. Primus and Decimus live in an alternate universe full of mind boggling animation and trippy beings that survive on Maslows hierarchy of needs.....Air, Food, Water and Sex.....you must turn on the English subtitles as it is in Italiano language only. Enjoy and tell me what you think of this superb European animation. Trust me you'll find it relaxing and fascinating. Pax Italiano my dear friends. Keep an open mind throughout. (PS: I'd lived in Sicily one summer with my friend Freddy Roxas. Cheers!