Having screened at FIRST International Film Festival Xining and Hiroshima, Liu Yufei's animation short uses the format in order to talk about trauma, in a rather interesting approach to the concept
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The 8 minute short begins with a cup of coffee and a man communicating his thoughts about the existence of the object, highlighting his angst. A sudden zoom at the leftovers in the bottom of the cup is soon morphed into a mole in the back of the neck of the same man. The film then proceeds on presenting the roots of the particular feeling, through four seemingly trivial incidents in the life of the man as he grew up. An incident in the classroom, one in his house, a meeting on the street, and the interaction with another boy, all lead to the same outcome. His strained relationship with his frequently harsh mother, whose behavior occasionally became violent, both verbally and physically has led him, as a kid, to watch every move and every word, in order to adapt to what she, and eventually others expected of him.
This mentality has continued on until now and his manhood, with the concept of the coffee and the fear of anyone accusing him of something regarding the empty cup (in a setting that looks like an office) being indicative. Furthermore, Liu Yufei uses the mole as a metaphor for the burden he carries and the trauma that is its root, in another, rather smart approach to the concept. The last scene does confuse things a bit, but perhaps it can be interpreted as saying that the protagonist (probably the filmmaker) does not accuse his mother, he still loves her, and that there were also moments of love in their relationship.
Apart from context, the animation thrives on its art form. The rather fast pace and the excellent flow from one frame to the other is impressive to watch, also allowing the director to make all the aforementioned comments in such a short duration. The narration also works well, while the music in the end adds a nice touch. The designs, both for the characters and the objects are not particularly detailed, with the lines being rather ‘thick', but as the focus here is more on the movement and the context, that is not exactly an issue.
“How I Grew Up” is a very smart, very interesting animation short, which definitely deserves a watch for its comments and the way they are presented.
