La Maison en Petits Cubes did that perfectly within just 12 minutes. You heard me right. The main character is not your ordinary main characters which mostly are young individuals that limit to the range of young adults towards mature adults. The main star of the show is an “Old Man”. He doesn’t have a name and it’s not important and it won’t affect what a masterpiece House Small Cubes is.
Everybody ask, what is so special about this anime anyway? What is so special about an old man in a 12 minute short film? And what is unique about children picture book art style? This is usually the question most people ask when they heard the title “House of Small Cubes”. This makes people get curious how this short film get this so much credit not only for anime in interest audience but also the majorityof movie critics in the western world. This anime won an Oscar award and this is the 2nd Japanese work that ever got the reward next to “Spirited Away”. And you ask why does this short even deserve this high honored award for just being a simple animation?
I will now start my review to explain why this short film deserves to be a masterpiece for many people around the world.
I consider my review spoiler free but sometimes others might see this spoiler free but I will just warn you guys for safety sake.
The Story of House of small cubes revolve around a stale and simple current life of an old man that lives in a cube shape house, made from bricks, surrounded by huge bodies of water. The house is stacked by lots of former cube houses which mean overtime as the water rise the Oldman build up new cube layers to survive. One day the water rises again and the old man is force to move up to build another level in his cube house. Accidentally while Oldman is moving his things to the new cube house layer, he drops his pipe to the sunken part of his cube house. Instead of buying a new pipe, He decided to rent a scuba suit and get back his old pipe back. This is the area where the movie shines the brightest for this is not a simple retrieval operation of a pipe but an adventure that revealed that reminded the old man about his life history.
As the old man found his pipe he realize something very important that made him go deeper on his sunken house. Each layer of cube explain a fundamental part of his life as he goes deeper on his sunken house he saw many things that happen towards his course of life. This feeling is no longer a simple nostalgia drive but a deeper recollection of memories about how wonderful the old man life as the time flows by. I will stop telling the story and will now continue my opinion and analysis about show.
The anime presented the meaning of life in short minutes that made me realize the perspective of an old person that reach the peak of his life. By just understanding the simple visual image of the anime you will realize how rich with messages about the true beauty life beholds that we haven’t realize yet because we are still young and full future opportunity of life.
This anime just presented the relaxing beauty of a simple fulfilling life by means of a simple children picture book art style that greatly matches the relaxing and dramatic atmosphere of the movie. The music is soul relaxing that your heart and emotion immerse with the story. You felt the emotion and thinking of the main character that is very vital for a slice of life drama movie. The piano composition is simply magnificent and outstanding. The story and animation is by far also a masterpiece because even without the piano music the feeling and emotion is still there as like it was magic that the creator inserted their heart and soul for the movie to deliver the emotion without a sound.
Overall all the aspect is just too perfect that it have these astonishing factors.
-The pure message the story provides about the meaning of a simple fulfilling life and additional prediction about climate change that blends well with the concept and premise.
-The great character emersion of the old man’s thoughts and feeling.
-The ground breaking soul and heart blowing classic piano music and the remarkable art of the movie.
This are the words I can say to prove this film deserve the Oscar award for being simply a masterpiece and deserve the title best anime short film in decades to come. I really love and enjoy this show. I don’t see this movie as source of entertainment anymore but simple an art worth praising. A work simple made out of passion.
I highly recommend this show to everybody not just people in MAL but on every person that is interested to see wonderful short film about the meaning of a simple fulfilling life.
I hope once you finish this movie the emotional thought of caring and respecting your elders will mark in your minds. Give your grandparents time to bond with you because you’ll never when will the time comes that they will leave given the short amount time they have in their lives.
