El Caminante
The inhabitants of a Spanish village gather for the visit of a death defying tightrope walker. He comes with his own attractive aura of danger and drama, and the crowd are not disappointed. Animated in a sketchy style on paper, this film powerfully uses the graphic freedom of this technique to select and embellish, to swoop and wander around the village. Austere sound effects and an Albeniz guitar piece are used to heighten this charmingly modest drama in which ordinary things – a hammer driving a nail, a flock of birds wheeling in the sky – are given their due.
CinemaSerf@Geronimo1967
The people of a Spanish village are excited to welcome an acclaimed tightrope walker who is going to dare to cross their steep-sided valley armed only with his balancing pole, as the wind blows steadily and the birds flock overhead. Will he earn their praises or end up dashed on the rocks below? I did enjoy the slightly tinted colouring of this simple but almost three-dimensional style of seamlessly flowing etching, and although the details of the bodies are fairly generic there are some lovely expressive faces as he carries out his perilous task as well a lively guitar accompaniment to enliven the whole occasion and to help the townsfolk settle back into their routine afterwards.