Rarely has a film intentionally silent film been ab keto capture
the imagination without uttering a single word like Away does. There are
animated films such as WALL-E where half the film is without a large amount of
dialogue but incorporates different sounds and eventually robotic voices and
noises before introducing characters that talk. Away shows us a world that looks
like something we’ve seen somewhere and lands us immediately into a story that
could be interpreted in a myriad of ways, which is, apart from the beautiful
simplistic style of animation, is its key charm.
A young boy finds himself in a strange island after waking
up suspended in a parachute. After narrowly escaping a strange entity, the boy
ends up on a journey across the island. Along with a little bird as his companion,
meeting other animals and encountering beautiful landscapes, they try to reach civilisation
and out run the ominous entity that pursues them.
Director Gints Zilbalodis creatively constructs
a world, its rules and brings us along for the ride through the boy in the story.
By choosing no dialogue, there is no point of the film where you feel as if you’ve
been removed from the world created. There are moments of pure bliss and
freedom followed by those of ever closing despair that are all portrayed by creatures
that show little emotion yet these immense feelings are manifested. At first
glance is seems as if the film is not yet completed but the simplistic style of
the animation strips back what is needed to enjoy the story being told. The
scenes details, the landscapes are beautiful, in particular the mirror lakes. As
the film doesn’t try to manipulate the audience into thinking how and why the
boy ended up on the island, one interpretation is that it feels like a video
game. As the boy collects items along the way, following a road that is mapped
out with giant rings that signify a change in terrain, he also encounters different
creatures, all the while checking where he is going according the postcard map,
he finds with the backpack and motorbike he finds at the start of his journey. It’s
as if he must complete levels at each chapter of the story.
It is indeed a beautifully formed film that feel unconventional
and a style that needs to be used more in feature films. A journey story that
is unlike any other, whether it is real, a dream or a game that one has to
play, Away is the ultimate escapism that we all need right now.
Now available on Curzon Home Cinema and available to buy on all
digital platforms
