Eternal Gaze (2003) User Reviews

Meh...

[Polaris_DiB · 7/10 · 23 July 2006]

It's really beautiful animation, but I'm not sure I comprehend why it's such a renouned short. Apparently showing the internal struggles and eventual death of ... that guy... who was an artist that the director really was in love with (but wasn't too widely known... hence my forgetting who it is in the first place we're talking about), it's a touching and loving homage to a person that not a whole lot of people would really relate with.

It's interesting and it's pretty, which does make it worth it's 16 minute playlength. However, I think that's basically all there is to it.

--PolarisDiB

Wow--this is terrific!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 25 August 2009]

Wow, is this a terrific short film. In fact, I am surprised that it's only won one award, as it's a beautiful and poignant film from start to finish.

ETERNAL GAZE is about the life of Alberto Giacometti, though it is not a biography and Giacometti did not die as they showed in the film. Instead, it's a fictionalized film about his creative process--the tortured and obsessive way in which he worked.

The first thing you notice about this black and white film is the amazing computer generated animation. This CGI is top-notch and amazing--with a real artistic flair. So, not only was Giacometti a great artist, but the people who made this film and rendered all these images were geniuses as well. It's just amazing and you need to see it to appreciate it.

The second thing you may notice is that the artist is not a particularly happy man in this film. He constantly is fiddling with his completed sculptures--never happy with his results. He loves his work and is unable to let go--leading to an amazing ending that is touching and just plain cool.

The bottom line is that no written description can do this film justice. It's one of these you just need to see for yourself. If you love short experimental films, then you'll love this one. Regardless, it seems impossible for someone to see it and not be impressed. A great little film.

Not just another animated short.

[jscott-19 · 10/10 · 4 August 2006]

This animation won over 30 festival awards in its year long march around the world. Most significantly, it won the highly coveted "Best Animated Short" award by the 2003 Siggraph Electronic Theater jury. It also won major festivals including, Palm Springs, Atlanta, San Diego, Art Futura, Savannah, Berlin, Cinema Chicago, St. Louis and a great many more). Qualifying for Academy Award consideration 4 times, this short was short-listed for the "big one" and was considered by many "the high-profile snub" from the Academy in the 2003 competition for best animated short.

Films don't receive this kind of recognition and accolade unless they're something special. It is a tremendous accomplishment and truly, an artistic gift to the world.

"The difference between the living and the dead is the gaze..."

[elsinefilo · 28 July 2009]

This is a story inspired by the life and torment of Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti. At the beginning of the animation we see his famous quote: "The difference between the living and the dead is the gaze..." Apparently the Swiss sculptor focuses on the model's gaze to the point of obsession. He tries to create his models in a perfect fashion that he destroys and re-models them when he thinks he has not got it right. He even dreams himself of being the death-angel of his creations. In the second part of the animation we are given a sneak preview of his deteriorating health while he is still trying perfect his art. At the end, he receives a special benediction from his works of art in a bout of coughing and passes away in an eternal gaze. I would not say much for the animating quality of the movie because you feel you just get to the soul and works of the sculptor but you just need to know a bit about Giacometti to really enjoy the movie. If you don't really know that he was someone who went through a lot artistic phase to reach the perfection you won't appreciate the animation at all but if you are in on it then you will just enjoy it!