Part of the Formosa Fantastic Shorts programs at Neuchatel, “Daisy” has also won a Special Distinction Prize for Graduation Film, from Bucheon International Animation Festival.
“Daisy” is screening at Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival
Daisy is a young girl who is being cared by Ben, a caring robot during wartime. The two spend a lot of time inside an underground shelter, trying to protect themselves from the air raids that take place frequently in the area. One day, a yellow flower finds its place in the shelter, eventually leading the girl to go out, in the house she used to live that is only inhabited by robots now. Unfortunately an air raid occurs once more, during their escape, Daisy and Ben are separated. When he “wakes up” Ben start looking for clues of her, with a yellow scarf she has left him and the memory panels of the other robots being his only leads.
Yu yu directs, designs, animates and co-writes a story that that has a distinct anti-war message along with a comment about friendship and dedication. The blights of war are presented essentially through the planes that have a rather ominous presence in the narrative, while the loss war brings is the main theme in that regard. That Ben cannot protect Daisy emerges as a rather realistic but also quite dramatic event, with the rest of the story revolving around this incident.
Yu yu seems to state that war severs anything, leads to frustration that can also lead to violence (as it actually happens in the movie) and that the only thing that remains in the aftermath are mementos and memories, with the yellow scarf highlighting this approach through a bittersweet approach that works quite well for the narrative.
With the short being essentially dialogue-less and with very little sound, the focus here is on the visuals, with the stop-motion animation being quite accomplished, complimenting the story in the most fitting fashion, in a stylye that is equally dramatic, biittersweet and occasionally adorable. The vividness of the colors and particularly the yellows is also impressive, while the drawing of the characters well-thought and detailed.
“Daisy” is an accomplished short that highlights the talent of Yu Yu, though an approach that is intricate, simple and beautiful.
