ThiefHott
Too much of everything
MoPoshy
Absolutely brilliant
ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"Blind Vaysha" is an animated 8-minute short film from 2016 that was directed by Theodore Ushev. The latter, a Bulgarian-born filmmaker, is also the one who adapted the original work by Georgi Gospodinov for the screen here. With these names and origins, you certainly would not expect this to be a Canadian movie in the English language. The National Film Board of Canada sure has come a long way if you look at their works from decades ago. But they have always been successful with the Academy, so it is not too surprising that this one here was also nominated for an Oscar. How much you like the animation style is of course always subjective. For me it was good without being great and clearly inferior to "Piper". But in terms of the plot and story, "Blind Vaysha" is far ahead of that one and probably also the rest of the competition. The idea of this disability (that's what it is and what it is rightfully called in the film) is a great one and result in the film oozing creativity. Sadly, I must say I did not like the way the fourth wall was broken at the very end and it went really strongly against the tone and story from everything before that, so I wished this film could have ended after 6 minutes with better closure. I still recommend it though and I also think it's the best from the three nominated animated short films I have seen so far. Lets see if prolific short film maker Ushev finally moves on to full features anytime soon. I think the character of Vaysha certainly would work as well with a 90-minute movie.
Kirpianuscus
dark atmosphere. shadows of the Balkanian myths. a simple story. with great impact. a parable. about the absence of present in many lives. and the right animation. because it is part of story in a so perfect manner than becomes itself the skin of the words. a film about the status of silhouette. because the past gives the hope, the future - the fall. between them - no bridge. and the bitter, harsh animation has the status to reflect this hole. doing "Blind Vaysha" a tool of wake up. because the girl is every viewer. memories against plans, projects and illusions, fears and too late. and this does the film a pure masterpiece. its cruel honesty about us. the lost of present . and the need to choose the right eye. a film about a gift. who defines our world so profound.
MartinHafer
This is one of two Canadian nominees (the other being Pear Cider and Cigarettes). It's sort of like a very, very dark modern fairy tale. It's a strange tale about a little girl born with two very strange eyes. Through one, she can only see the past and with the other she can only see the future. So, for example, when she sees an adult, they appear in one eye as a small child and in the other incredibly elderly and feeble. As to what all this means, well I was left wondering this when the film ended.As far as the animation goes, you'll either love it or hate it and it strongly accentuated the darkness of the story. It certainly is NOT a pretty film to watch and many of the animations are a bit horrifying to watch. Like too many shorts this year, I did wonder why it was nominated as well as feeling a bit depressed after seeing it.I think "Blind Vaysha" is very unlikely to take home the Oscar, as "Piper" is much more of a crowd pleaser and it s sweet little film...without the dark edges the other nominees all see to have in spades!
framptonhollis
I just came home from a wonderful screening of the Oscar nominated animated short films this year, and they all truly delighted me. However, this one was certainly the most impressive! The story is unique and powerful, it is both beautiful and surprisingly hopeless-and the simple yet breathtakingly effective way it is told is super refreshing! However, the main thing that this film has going for it is not its story nor its approach to said story, but its ANIMATION and, equally as important, its ATMOSPHERE. This is a creepy and melancholy little film that is beautifully and uniquely animated. This heavily stylized way of animation is perfect for this story and this atmosphere, it captures the darkness of its tone, its surprising sadness.If you have a couple of minutes to spare, there is no better way to spend those minutes than by watching this brief and haunting gem.
