Imagination (2007) User Reviews

Impressive animated visuals and its marriage to music is the reason to see this clunky metaphysical drama

[dbborroughs · 5/10 · 16 June 2008]

Strange tale of a doctor investing the odd link between two girls, twins, who seem to have the same way of seeing things even though one is blind. As the girls world view becomes more powerful their father leaves and the mother is forced to cope alone, until she is killed in an earthquake, at which point the doctor is forced to take over care of the girls.

Strange, often pretentious, film doesn't really work. The film is trying very hard to get at something which mostly seems to just be outside its reach. I think part of the problem is that the unevenness of the cast works against the film with only the doctor and the twins really having any presence. The poorness of filming of the dialog scenes doesn't help either. Honestly as a drama it really doesn't work even on its own unique terms.

What does work, and the reason to try the film, is the animated and visually arresting special effects scenes which manage to keep you watching even when the rest of the film doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The marriage of music and image is often quite stunning.

The film is a worth a look if you want to see visual form over content. However if you're looking for a compelling drama I'd look elsewhere.

Beware

[NTNchamp2 · 3/10 · 18 June 2009]

I like to think I can appreciate visual art and modern art, but not in a feature film like this. I like good movies with compelling characters and a riveting story, and this had neither.

Artistic sequences were interesting for a few seconds, but I felt like they dragged on for WAY too long. The filmmakers needed an outsider to serve as editor because some of these scenes, even ones without art or special effects, went on way too long. There is one scene with the doctor tossing and turning in the white sheets of his bed for what seems like five minutes.

The acting is horrible. I was very distracted because the adult actors did not bring any realism to their emotions, which should have been compelling considering the circumstances of raising children with asperger's syndrome. Instead, it was extremely flat and stilted, and none of the character's feelings or emotions were conveyed to me in any way that made me care about the characters.

Some people will like this film, but I don't think they will like it for its story or as a feature film. I was very disappointed and extremely bored throughout, which I found surprising because usually I am easily pleased.

Beautiful Artistically, But Beyond That Not Really Special

[gavin6942 · 5/10 · 1 March 2009]

Brothers Eric and Jeffrey Leiser bring us the story of two twin girls who have Asperger's syndrome, where they are highly introverted and socially awkward, but have strong imaginations guided by "the white fawn", whatever that might be. Dr. Reineger has a fascination with these girls and seeks to find some answers.

This film has one weak point and one strong point. The weak point is the acting. The two main characters, besides the girls, just do not impress me at all. Courtney Sanford (mother Janice Woodruff) forces her lines out, and Ed K. Gildersleeve (Dr. Reineger) doesn't do much better. The plot is very thin, and their navigation through it with words is like a canoe lost at sea... it's going somewhere, but certainly not from the actors' control.

The strong point is the imagination and animation throughout the picture. Clay, food, paint and any other medium found is used in this movie, with more or less consistently beautiful results. Had they wanted to, the Leisers could have simply filmed these segments, added a few more and called it art. They were the highlight of the picture.

This movie was picked up and rented on a whim, something that may be a little bit risky... but in this case, it opened my eyes to a film I would likely never had seen otherwise, presenting a style I never before would have imagined. Not a comedy, not a drama... just pure imagination on film.

visionary indie artfilm

[marietwinnings · 9/10 · 29 January 2010]

visionary indie artfilm offers disjointed scenes of great imagination: "Imagination" is bold and excellent personal spiritual art; many sights and sounds are utterly magical and memorably symbolic. However this doesn't mean the film can satisfy commercial standards, or even that many art house audiences will be able to enjoy it. The hauntingly original animation and varied dreamlike music, which complement each other well and remain sincerely accessible throughout, do ensure a certain level of general appreciation. Students of film will admire techniques combining stop motion puppets, drawn animation, time lapse, and more. It's the other problems that will push away mainstream viewers, including amateurish live acting (poor casting decisions were clearly made, though the girls are sweet and the psychiatrist is passable), naive non-credible scripting (much better dialogue was needed to set up a doctor who gets custody of recently orphaned special-needs children in an stark alienating lab), and unimpressive uneven cinematography. Truly the soul doesn't care about such flaws and limitations, since spiritual growth is all about sincerity and hitting the high points, which this film has in abundance. There are scenes that will stay with you, especially those set in the mythic woods of eyed trees that was previously released in a stand-alone short called "Forest". Unlike Hollywood, the soul cares about quality rather than quantity. If an artwork has even just an audience of one that is deeply touched, then it will resonate to endure and change the universe forever. In this regard, Imagination is tremendously successful.

Haunting and Beautiful

[filmintuition · 8 December 2007]

Former Spongebob Squarepants prop animator Eric Leiser explores his passion for his baccalaureate major field of experimental animation with this three year effort co-written with his brother, the composer and poet Jeffrey Leiser. In this haunting work which should be of particular interest to students specializing in the various techniques of film animation, Eric Leiser draws upon his vast experience and melds together puppetry, stop-motion sketches, camera trickery and claymation that dazzles the senses and makes the live action sequences pale in comparison. Employing a story that trips the mind fantastic, the brothers craft a tale which centers on two medically challenged twin sisters who are brought in for neuropsychological testing by Dr. Reineger (Ed K. Gildersleeve) when young Anna Woodruff (Nikki Haddad) is viewed as a likely candidate for Asperger's Syndrome. After their mother worries about the sisters' increasingly tight bond and their tendency to disappear into the far reaches of their imaginations, Anna's twin Sarah (Jessi Haddad) is brought in for the study after she is found to be legally blind—a condition that the optometrist predicts will worsen with time. The melancholy plot is elevated by bursts of clever animations that creep around every corner along with the sweeping score by Jeffrey Leiser that is so impressive one wonders if there will be an option on the upcoming DVD to isolate the superior music and visuals since they show off the Leisers' considerable talent in their chosen areas. However, the existential questioning that permeates the fascinatingly chilly first half of the film soon evolves into a spiritual crisis for the doctor that doesn't quite synch with the beginning which had called to mind the imagination run amok and lurking foreshadowing of sadness to follow evidenced in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures. Still, the proposal of the two twins unifying into one with a psychic connection is a creative idea sure to intrigue devotees of Philip K. Dick's phantom twin motif and surrealist film fans along with lovers of animation in every form. Imagination, which was an official selection at the Tel Aviv Film Festival, the Istanbul International Animation Festival in Turkey and played in select screenings in the states, is set to be released by Vanguard International Cinema on DVD on February 26 of next year.

(Film Intuition Blog)

They forgot what it means to dream.

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 21 November 2007]

This film came to me as an came to me as an early preview DVD courtesy of the filmmakers, the Leiser brothers. To say it is like nothing I have ever seen would be an understatement.

Those looking for the latest Hollywood "comedy" and it's scatological "humor" or the latest action film will find none of that here. This surreal film truly qualifies as avant-garde and presents a visual experience that will stay with you long after it's 70 minutes have ended. The score, done by Jeffrey Leiser, who co-wrote the script, is also magnificent and enhances the visual experience.

The only thing in the film that approaches acting is the neuro-psychologist, played by Ed K. Gildersleeve. Of course, the poor scientist is as baffled as the parents when he cannot provide scientific explanation to what is going on.

That is not hard to understand, as many do not come into contact with those suffering from Asperger syndrome, which is a high functioning autism disorder. From all those I have and am dealing with who have autism, I have only one that may be Asperger's. But don't let that prevent you from enjoying the ride through this film, especially if you are the type that likes to see science flummoxed in the face of the metaphysical.

For open minded film goers

[maryzoomzoom · 9/10 · 18 October 2008]

Imagination seems to be about learning the secrets of heaven and nature. Starring are identical twin sisters, one who is going blind and the other who suffers from a type of autism called Asperger's syndrome. The premise is that together they have a special gift that enables them to rise above their physical disabilities and collectively escape reality into a realm of their imagination. It is when the film moves into the stop-motion animated worlds that I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It is through Eric Leiser's many animation techniques that the two girls connect with a spiritual force/deity and ascend from their limited reality into something much greater and more magical. Which is somehow related to an albino fawn. Regarding their clueless parents, the twin girls say, "They forgot what it means to dream."

I think the Leiser Brothers could, in the future, turn in amazing works along the lines of Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and The Science of Sleep (2006). They obviously are a talented duo. Alternatively, they could focus their film-making in the world of animation, à la Jan Svankmajer or the Brothers Quay, which is this film's obvious strength.

supernatural

[penwalden · 9/10 · 30 April 2009]

In "imagination", Sarah and Anna Woodruff (played by Jessi and Nikki Haddad, respectively) are twin sisters who confound everyone around them. Their father is distant and eventually leaves the family. Their mother (Courtney Sanford) is anxious and frantic for answers. And a child neurologist (Ed K. Gildersleeve) who initially diagnosed Anna with a rare form of autism isn't so sure. Sarah- who's near blind- and Anna live within their own world, a shared imagination that includes prophetic dreams and visions. They are almost the same person in a way, occasionally speaking in unison, rarely separated from one another. When tragedy strikes, the doctor is left with more questions than answers. I'll admit to being a little confused as to what the film is about. What I can clearly state is that it is a representation of the closeness some siblings- and twins in particular- share with one another (something I would imagine Eric Leiser, who directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with his brother/composer Jeffrey, knows much about). At first I thought we might be watching an exploration into the gifted minds of the two sisters, and how their respective disabilities work to enhance such gifts, which in itself would be an interesting story. After a while, however, the film seemed to morph into a look inwards at how faith guides us into our eventual destination in life, and while that may be the best description I can give of the film, it doesn't account necessarily for the almost supernatural aspect of the film, as evident in both the storytelling method and the ambiguous ending. One of the things that struck me as particular inspired about the film was how well Leiser didn't allow the obvious budgetary limitations get in the way of telling the story as best he could (it helps that he gets an assist from his brother Jeffrey on the music, which helps propel the narrative forward, even if it's not terribly subtle). In a way, the film benefits from the limitations, using low-budget effects like high-speed photography, stop-motion animation, and photographic and sound effects to put us very much in Sarah and Anna's world. (Of particular note is how Leiser makes us feel, convincingly, that an earthquake is taking place through simple camera and sound tricks.) Many times the film reminded me of Michel Gondry's lovely "The Science of Sleep" from last year in such touches, and although it isn't on solid enough ground thematically to compare to that film in overall quality, it does make for a distinctly endearing quality that will benefit the film on multiple viewings. This is my first experience with Leiser's work- he's an established veteran of a couple of features now and many shorts in the independent film community- and was, on the whole, impressed by what I saw in "imagination" (he emailed me recently in the interest of getting a review from the site). His film- which has played at a few festivals and has video distribution lined up for a February 2008 DVD release- is a thoughtful and imaginative work, and will play well for anyone looking for something beyond the usual by-the-numbers explorations at the mysteries of life, even if I wasn't completely clear as to what the film's final point was.

Intricate mystery revolving around, and beyond, imagination

[tipani · 10/10 · 19 May 2007]

I was privileged to be able to enjoy this beautifully crafted film, screened at Aarhus Festival of Independent Arts in Denmark.

The story begins and revolves around the enigmatic twins, Anna and Sarah, whose parents contact Dr. Reineger to conduct a research regarding visions they see. A big part of the film is animated, mostly with stop-motion technique, by Eric Leiser, which combined with the absolutely terrific atmospheric score by Jeffrey Leiser creates an unique viewing pleasure. These imagination scenes are also often the force that further allows the unfolding of the multi-layered plot.

I was amazed by the animation and music alone, but on top of that, director Leiser has also created an enjoyable viewing experience, which I hope will meet many many audience members in the future.

Warmly recommended!

beautiful Christian message wrapped in a weird film!

[andrewway52 · 9/10 · 19 December 2009]

You've got to hand it to Eric Leiser. It takes creative cajones the size of the Mayo Clinic to take on a subject as tricky as mental illness - or in this case, neurological dysfunction - and keep it from being a preachy, predicable disease of the week kind of weeper. The sparkling independent effort Imagination is anything but a limp Lifetime movie, avoiding all the clichés within this type of narrative while investing the film with a far amount of invention and insight. We've all heard tales of twins and their inexplicable psychic connection, how one sibling senses what the other is feeling and visa versa. Well, Imagination is one of the few films that wants to explore the inner workings of that connection. Using stop motion animation, various post-production techniques, and other storyline supposition, Leiser unlocks the inferred secrets of such biological sameness, and then inserts a somber meditation on fate, religion, love, loss, and family into the mix. This is not a straightforward look at said subjects. Instead, Leiser goes the tone poem route, revising his plot with pictures and proposals. He never fully gives away his motives, and this then becomes one of Imagination's undeniable strengths.

Animation Delight

[sandy-richards37 · 10/10 · 10 January 2010]

A passage early on shows a child playing with a zoetrope (a pre-camera gadget for simple animations). That foreshadows a wide variety of techniques in this imaginative film, including live action, stop animation, hand-drawn cel animation, and combinations of any two or three. Stop animation evokes Svankmajer's use live actors as animation puppets, as well as use of food. Some macabre, skeletal puppets also bring the Brothers Quay to mind. None of that implies that Leiser's style is at all derivative, however - every scene carries his distinctive imprint, including dramatic imagery around a major, catastrophic incident.

After the technique, Leiser's content seems much harder to capture. I found it easy to dislike the ineffectual psychiatrist and to feel for the desperate mother. The twins, however, remained enigmatic to me. They lived as a symbiotic pair in a world governed by beings with huge powers. The nature of their bond and the rules of that world became clear by the end. I don't need to understand every part of a pattern in a movie or the reason for it, but I look to see that there is some pattern somewhere. This time, enough parts came together for me to perceive that a unified whole existed.

When logical structure in a movie eludes me, whether or not I understand that structure, I look to the visuals to pull me along. being strong, this movie's imagery has the power. Fans of surrealist animation will find a fair bit to enjoy here, I can say it's a must-have for any personal library.

Very beautiful heart felt film

[croinkix · 10/10 · 31 March 2015]

I'm not too good at articulating my thoughts, but I'll try to just to get more people to watch this amazing. I could go on about the visuals, and music, but there's no way I could do it justice. This IMDb score doesn't do it justice! It makes me want to throw my computer out the window, how unjustifiably low it is. People complain about the acting, but I love it. Not ironically whatsoever, it makes clear all the heart that went into making this, with complete lack of cynicism towards the process, and pure ambition and results to offer with that ambition, some of the dialogue even works like beautiful poetry, like when the mother interrupts the doctor at the beginning. And I sympathized with the doctor I could sense his compassion for the twins and I dug his whole character movement from beginning to end. The way it was made reminded me of Nic Winding Refn's approach where it has a low budget movie vibe, but the emotions that are focused on rise above that whole novelty sector, and so you end up with an excellent piece of art. I very much loved the music and sounds the film had to offer, the aesthetics. The film definitely gotta be up there, with the greatest movies I've seen in my life time, definitely check it out, I can't recommend it enough. If you're into Svankmajer, Lynch (especially if you're into Twin Peaks or even eraserhead) or heck even Jodorosky, I mainly say Jodorosky because of all the heart put into this, with unapologetic-ally expressive imagery, though unlike Jodorosky,I feel like there's a less dogmatic approach to it,it's just presented as a story and the story is marvelous. I listed a couple directors, but the Leiser brothers have a unique style. They put their very soul into this , and this movie is one that healed me, and it's full of life and energy. I can't say that for another movie I've watched, though that's on a more personal level. It's work that had a purpose, but was honest. The ending was also super rad. I loved the microscope scene, and the church scene with the doctor. Beautiful story. (I know i'm all over the place, but i don't care) Amazing film, it's brought so so so so much joy to my life with it's tender scenes filled with lots of emotions that come out naturally, the film never forces me to feel a specific way, i can feel however i want, and the ambiguity gives the film life. A must watch simply said. For any age.

A unique exploration of the autistic mind

[albigenzen · 10/10 · 7 December 2010]

Every once and awhile, a treasure emerges seemingly out of nowhere. IMAGINATION is one of those treasures. This film explores the realm of the autistic mind in a way that is creative, artistic, and filled with depth, while at the same time touching a strong thread of realism. Having worked as a music therapist with a number of cerebral challenged children and adults, I have a strong appreciation for this film. I was moved at director Eric Leiser's ability to take the audience on a journey through the minds of the subjects in this film. I would recommend this film to anyone seeking to understand the many facets of the human mind, and the depth of the human spirit. Imagination is a genuine work of serious art from the unique mix of media and, I must add beautiful soundtrack by Jeffrey Leiser.

Daniel Griffin's Review

[sheri-collins705 · 9/10 · 1 October 2008]

Now add Eric (who directed) and Jeffrey (who co-wrote) Leiser to the above list for their absorbing, fascinating Imagination, which contains stunning animated sequences that are often overwhelmingly lurid and oneiric. That's a good thing—for the film's several missteps in, yes, its narrative, its visuals successfully feed that need in me for surreal, abstract dreamscape. It's a rare accomplishment that so fearlessly abandons conventional cinema for astral overload that it often plays more like a music video or one of those Terry Gilliam animated vignettes than a film. But a film it is, ultimately—one that achieves aesthetic beauty and wonderment, even if it ultimately fails to connect emotionally.

What Imagination gets right is its namesake—the animated sequences in which the twins escape into their fantasies and attempt to make sense of the complicated world going on around them. Think Pan's Labyrinth or Victor Erice's Spirit of the Beehive, only far more abstract. These animated sequences are achieved with primitive-looking puppetry and stop motion animation, with abstract water color paintings serving as backgrounds, but these sequences' simplistic nature is part of its considerable style and charm: They represent the half-realized, continuously developing world of two children who are desperately trying to make sense of their lives. Each dream therefore seems to reveal just a few more rooms of their made-up world. By the end of the film, the sisters have developed a fantasy location in which every inch of the screen provides important details; the effect brings to mind the "living" castle in Jean Concteau's Beauty and the Beast, in which every wall, window frame, and candlestick seems to share a secret that the protagonists do not know about.

In these dreams, the twins fuse into a single body (though we hear both their voices speaking at the same time), and the film utilizes biblical and literary imagery that the children use as signposts to interpret the emotional absences of their parents and their increasingly overbearing disabilities. The single animated representation of the twins looks like a hastily-formed, unfinished angel, and this is precisely the embodiment of their reality, at least according to their parents' frequent disappointment with their handicaps. The world they inhabit is sharper, more graceful, and it contains some of the most visionary animation that I've seen—particularly in the details, which includes trees with eyes on its bark and a recurring fawn that turns from an creature of light to a messenger of death in a gradual transition that becomes remarkably terrifying. I'm not going to give away any more of this fully-realized animated world, except to say that they clearly spring from superior creative spirit and that they consistently top themselves in terms of mesmerizing feasts for the eyes. If some of the live action scenes are questionable, Imagination absolutely sparks to life and achieves moments of pure visionary greatness as soon as the children retreat into their dreams.

I am in awe of every animated frame that the Leiser brothers create. Eric's live action work, filmed on 16mm, is a bit more inconsistent. Some sequences are derivative and go on for too long, such as the extended earthquake sequence that begins strong with shots of crumbling rocks but eventually becomes overkill when the camera repeatedly shakes over images of cities, cars, roads, etc. There's another scene like this when the psychologist tosses and turns repeatedly; that he cannot sleep is a point made quickly—why do they linger for so long on his restlessness? On the other hand, some scenes demonstrate great power, such as the director's choice to provide close-ups of the twins' eyes and mouths as they overhear a heated argument between their parents. The effect is so intimate that it grows efficiently unnerving. Eric is also very good at framing—note the way that the doctor's hands overpower the rest of his body as he sits comfortably at his desk, explaining new strategies for approaching the twins' disabilities. He is a man driven completely by his toils.

Imagination has been a three years project for the Lesier brothers, and it was time well spent. There is something utterly hopeful in the thought that a blind girl's fantasy can take her to the Tree of Life, so that she can stand before it and observe both its splendor and its shortcomings, weigh the odds, and eventually decide to taste the fruit. Imperfections result, but the experiences gained are too important to miss—which is exactly how I feel about this movie. The Tree of Life, in the end, exists primarily in the sacred hallows of our minds, which is where the Lesiers keep it and nurture it—unblemished, beautiful, threatening, and quietly informing our dreams. Keep an eye on these fellows; they possess the boldness and, certainly, the imagination of the masters.

Imagination is a collaborative experimental film

[jasonmammon · 10/10 · 29 January 2010]

Imagination is a collaborative experimental film effort by brothers Eric and Jeffrey Leiser, which combines hand-drawn animation, stop-motion puppet animation, pixilation, and time-lapse techniques (by director/animator Eric) with a haunting musical score (by composer Jeffrey). They co-wrote the story about a neuro-psychologist's attempts to understand two twin girls: Anna, who is diagnosed with a rare form of autism called Asperger's, and Sarah, who is diagnosed as legally blind. The girls connect with each other through the realm of their imaginations, expressed through surreal animated imagery. Most of the film consists of using these abstract dreamscapes to show a window into how the girls experience their world, and other dialogue scenes of the psychologist with the girls' parents tie the story together.

The idea behind this film resonated with me personally, given that I am not only a stop-motion animator, but also have a younger brother with autism. Many autistic children, such as those my mother works with as a special education teacher, are non-verbal, but my brother Jonathan is of a higher functioning kind, very similar to Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man. I often wish I could enter my brother's brain and see how differently he sees the world around him, so I appreciate how Imagination uses animation to suggest this very idea. Leiser's animation, inspired by the work of Czech stop-motion legend Jan Svankmeyer, also resonates with spiritual symbolism, including the recurring appearance of a white fawn or stag. The white stag is a traditional symbol of Christ which hearkens back to the medieval myth of St. Eustace, and has been alluded to in contemporary myths like Narnia and the Harry Potter series. In my own experience with autism, I believe that there is a direct connection these children have which possibly brings them into a very close intimacy with the spiritual realm. It's possible, in my view, that people with autism and Asperger's have keys to certain doors in the human brain that for the rest of us are simply locked. (My brother, on occasion, used to wander around the house repeating to himself that "Jesus Christ is the Son of God." To him, though he may not understand the theological implications behind this, it's simply a fact that he understands in his own way…I often wonder if he understands it better than the rest of us.)

Escape to the Puppetry, Stop Animation,and Tim Burton Vibes

[xwbrhqn · 9/10 · 10 April 2021]

We all go through life with tragic events at some point we are all touched by serious change. Twins feel emotions together, and the rarity that they both are autistic can be interpreted with music, colors, visions, puppetry, art, and even the dark side of emotions. The Leiser brothers have a Cannes film, and many shorts, including the music and a newly written Opera. As you watch the film it ignites your thoughts, and the journey is like no other. Cheers!

Blew my Mind!

[jim-falcon · 10/10 · 2 April 2008]

This film may not be for those looking for a popcorn flick but if you like your films to be crazy adventures into new worlds than this is for you. I had trouble following some of the plot points at times but the story, animation and most of all the score are some the coolest stuff I've seen in recent memory. The twin girls in the film were really amazing and kind of freaky at times. The other actors were pretty average except for the doctor who did a decent job in his role. The film was so weird and creative i really can't compare it to anything out there right now accept maybe Pan's Labyrinth. The DVD extras go into how the film was made and has some cool info on the filmmakers who worked on some of the film in Prague. Highly recommended for those who want to try something different!

Only for modern art lovers

[Gordon-11 · 22 March 2008]

This film is about the unbounded dreams and imagination of two twin sisters, one is blind while the other has Asperger's Syndrome.

I was hoping for a touching drama about people with disabilities, how parents deal with it, how the children express themselves, being happy despite the circumstances etc. It turns out that none of my expectations were met. Instead, "Imagination" turns out to be an imaginative and artistic piece that belongs more to a modern art museum than the big screen. It looks more like a collage of artistic slips stitched together. There is really no plot, as the so called plot only serves as the backdrop of the artistic clips.

If you like modern art, then you will appreciate this film. If not, you will find it a big mess and a waste of time.