Aru Machi Kado no Monogatari

- A Masterclass in describing motion through tempo.

Osamu Tezuka's second experimental short, and his first of some considerable length is a delightful bag of goodies that slowly reveals its contents the deeper you decide to dig in.

Tales of a Street Corner is an experimental animated film that describes a microcosm of a world encompassed within a street while reflecting on the most broadest of metaphysical meanings of life itself - the journey from the optimistic awe that is conceived by innocence to the nadir of nihilism wrenched out by the hidden realities. It could also be seen on a more literal level as the reflection ... of war - a reminiscent experience of Tezuka's own childhood being upturned by the second world war. At some moments, there were hints of a subtle criticism towards the regimentalism that pervaded Japanese society following the Meiji restoration and the rebellious struggle of art and artists.

This silent film explores the thoroughfare of a certain street in a nameless city through the tedious lives of a certain eclectic group of animals, trees and inanimate objects - primarily composed of wall posters, a spider's web and a shattered lamp post. Their merry and interactive life is upturned when the military, ominously represented by the trudging boots that repeatedly make their presence felt on the street, replace the posters with identical ones glorifying the purpose of war, swallowing everything else in its path and ultimately ending in tragic consequences for all involved.

In both "Male" and "Tales of a Street corner", Tezuka establishes a stylistic choice to embrace minimalism in his motion. The animation style often involves still but contrasting frames that linger for moments - generating music using the music as the leading coordinator. The setting of the various wall posters were perfect to employ this technique and accentuated by the vibrant pop aesthetic in the coloring.

Given how this film eschewed any veneer of mass appeal, I found it quite interesting how cinematic the movie was at points. Shifting perspectives provided the illusion of a moving camera - particularly emphasized when the posters of the two musicians fly chaotically in the flame kissed skies and the perspective constantly shifts to accompany the driving music and sound effects of the bombing.

While it was slow to begin, I found that it added more to the film than it took from the experience by the end. By focusing on a microcosm of the world - not just at the street level, but at the thematic level, a lot is left for the imagination to conjure up. We do not see the chaos being wrought in other streets because of our microscopic focus, but we can conjure up the possibilities because of the looming doom.

While not a conventional animated film, this certainly rings the bell of a masterpiece in my books.

The Story, it was well handled the start was intriguing to say the least, there was moments of joy, sadness, fear, despair and hope, it was well implemented and it kept me waiting to see what happened next, and it was all done with no speech or text apart from the opening credits.

The Art, a unique style for back in the time when it was realized, but I will say it would have been more appealing if the background was slightly more detailed, the transitions to the different scenes were well done through out the animation.

The Sound, was well mixed and the transitions in the ... sound tracks were as well, I will not go into detail with the sound but the music was nice, I fear if I go any further this would go into spoiler area and I don't want that.

The Character, you get to meet the main characters in the opening credits scene, the way they were described throughout the animation was well done they showed kindness, fear, worry, love, and sorrow all shown in movement alone was well done.

The Enjoyment, it kept my watching through every second and would make me smile at fun and joyful moments.

The Overall, the whole animation was a well done piece of art and should be watched if you like non text or speech animation it allows anyone to enjoy from any country, it did have it's dark moment but it seemed more of an awareness message, this is all I have to say about this animation goodbye.

Rate a 6
Audio is background not vocal
art piece

Story
Had a good opening that stressed who the main characters were and the roles they played. Only thing i would have added is a little more of a background for some of the same characters slightly later on at some point. Conclusion was unclear. On one had you can see it as tragic as the other you can see it as merciful/just. While telling a story with animated characters with no subtitles or vocals is a real challenge. Which to be fair was handled generally well. Although, the pain the viewer was suppose to take was unknown. Movies ... to me are supposed to have their message almost screaming out to the viewer. If they want you to cry they will make you cry. Laugh when they want you to laugh. Here it is like the narrator left the room and left you alone with the band and artist. While you and them can't exactly see eye to eye nor can speak it allows for wide ranges of miscommunications.

Art
-Worked with story. Art was not as fine tuned as what we see now a days. This art had the feeling it was painted rather than drawn.
-art also did a good job at expressing most emotions from those you would not think could express emotions.

Sound 10/10
If the challenge was the use of symbolism instead of direction(vocals). For the music got low when a sad moment arrived and upbeat during high moments.

Character- unclear other than the minor information given at the beginning.

Enjoyment
This animation for me is historical. Showed a lot of possible connections and relations one could connect to. Like an evil boss or unfair life. Art major would appreciate this.