The Periwig-Maker (1999)

Admirable film.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The animation of this grim and sombre, yet to me deeply moving and beautifully-constructed short was incredible, the characters looked just like puppets without the strings, and even though they weren't perfectly to the scale of real human beings, I just completely bought them and everything about this magnificently heartbreaking short as real. Of course it's unpleasant, it wouldn't be respectful to the horrendous time it's set in if it wasn't. Even though it's setting is one tiny place with the view of another building across the way, I think it captures very well a good deal of the dire atmosphere of decay and tragedy of a period of human history that I'm quite sure you or I couldn't even imagine living in. So much death and tragedy, enough to change the world... At its worst it must have been like hell on earth. The mournful music theme perfectly compliments the tone and was very emotionally involving to me, I really got into it right away, and I just got a knot in my stomach and got misty-eyed at certain moments, like when the corpse of the poor orphan girl's mother is being carted away and falls out of the cover and the girl cries out and runs to her and is roughly shoved back by the undertaker. That's the thought that I find the most saddening about that time, the helpless innocent ones that must have been left alone in a very cold and hard world to die. The Periwig Maker himself was a fantastically realised character that was excellently voiced by Kenneth Branagh. For a mere quarter of an hour he goes through a real arc and I understood his point of view, he didn't want to die and was just trying to deal with a world gone mad in his own way, pretending not to notice the little girl right outside his window, and attempting to remain snobbishly detached from it all in the seemingly safe haven of his closed off store. But of course inside he's full of emotion. It's so sad when he's visited by the girl's spirit on the night of her death, bringing the supernatural into the narrative. Or, it could be a visual metaphor of his own guilt, it's open to interpretation. And in the end I was very impressed how an animation so laden with despair manages to turn itself around in a mere few seconds and actually end on a hopeful note. And I did find it positive because it was true, the world did change for the better after the Great Plague, the shackles of the almighty Church were loosened and people were more free to have new opportunities and different ways of thinking, that is the bittersweet silver lining that is presented in this short. I was also impressed by how the ending for me at least, didn't conflict with the somewhat bizarre and macabre image of the wig maker wearing a wig that he had fashioned from the beautiful red hair of the girl. Now I personally didn't think that he was wearing the hair out of madness, I think it was more a gesture of his regret that he didn't do anything to aid her when he could have, and the act of using his talent to make the wig and expose himself to the disease was a way of trying to make amends, and also possibly that for better or for worse, he was done being shut away in seclusion and wasn't going to cut himself off from life or death anymore. A truly excellent short, it was haunting, engaging, and I loved it. Take care.

This short was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short. There will be spoilers ahead:In addition to discussing this short, I'd like to make the following observation-animation is not a genre, as mystery, western or science fiction would be, but rather it is a method of making films, a technique, a craft. It's a method for the presentation of a story and can be used to relate a mystery, a western, a science fictional story effectively.This short serves as an excellent use of animation (specifically stop-motion) to relate an adaptation of Daniel Defoe's "Journal of the Plague Years". It creates the atmosphere of its setting with remarkable economy and effectiveness.Told by a narrator, voiced by Kenneth Branagh, whose performance is magnificent, the story is told by a series of diary passages written by a periwig-maker who finds himself closeted in his shop during a plague. The narrator speculates on the causes and remedies of the plague as tragedy unfolds around, almost mundanely, on a daily basis. The occasional glimpses of rats scurrying about remind the viewer what the narrator doesn't realize, namely, that the plague is caused by infected fleas borne by the rats.The narrator gradually becomes aware of a little girl who, of course, becomes ill and subsequently succumbs to the plague. Eventually consumed by a feeling of guilt, the periwig-maker does something startling by way of atonement for his separation from humanity, becomes ill himself and it is clear that he too will die of plague.This is a bleak and dark work and is expertly crafted. It can be found online and is well worth seeking out. Most highly recommended.

THE PERIWIG-MAKER is a film about one of the many plagues that racked Europe. This one, I assume was Cholera, as the Black Death had attacked Europe in the 14th century and the film was set in the 17th century. Of course, with so many different plagues, it's really hard to say (as well as quite unnecessary). The film shows the perspective of a wig maker as he watches his neighbors drop off one by one. There is nothing sentimental about this film--instead, it just seems to be a straight and no holds barred retelling of events during this plague.THE PERIWIG-MAKER is an amazing film to watch--it's animation style is beautiful and captivating even if the subject matter of the film is grim and unpleasant. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film but lost to the sentimental film, FATHER AND DAUGHTER. However, I would have voted for THE PERIWIG-MAKER simply because of its breathtaking animation as well as giving us a historical perspective on the plague. Hmmm....now that I think about it, considering how down-beat this short was as well as how REJECTED (the other nominee that year) were, I can see why the Academy voted as they did. I certainly don't agree with them, but can understand their logic.

The oscar nominated short stop-motion film depicts a wig maker (voice of Kenneth Branagh) in Plague-era Europe. While suitably dark and featuring Kenneth's best acting since at least the late-eighties, still has the air of pomposity that may be off-putting to some. Furthermore I didn't particulerly care for the ending. Still the stop-motion animation is pain-stakingly conceived & the attention to detail is beyond reproach. I can't help but think back to the marionette play that John Cusack put on in the beginning of "Being John Malkovich". Which is a roundabout why to say this is artsy stuff and not for kids.My Short Grade: B-Where i saw it: Atom Films