(39) Short Film Sunday #24: Balance (1989)

Balance (1989).

Without balance nothing can really exist or co-exist, even chaos couldn't exist without a certain balance. I remember reading a story from 60's, can't remember the title, however the story went, that there was a family they all lived in their separate places, mother, father and a child, the only way they communicated was through their TV screens, something like Skype or video chat nowadays. They had never met in real life. However, one day they decide that they could all meet, what happens is a big explosion of emotions, because they are not familiar with human touch or other ways of communicating, all they know is the TV screen. Their meeting ends with a savage rage. The balance was destroyed.

Well, that story was written in 60's, sadly enough, it often seems to me that it is a route that humanity has taken, less real communication, more virtual communications. Balance is needed. Overcrowded Earth, every human being needs their own space, real or virtual, since there is no room on Earth, it is balanced out in the virtual world.

The short film Balance (1989) is about 5 individuals, who need to keep the platform in balance, so they wouldn't fall off of it and face death. Each individual is aware of the fact that they need to keep the platform in balance, that they need to cooperate in order to survive. What happens when one day one of the individuals pulls up a music box on the platform? Will harmony sustain? Will greed or cooperation win?

See for yourself. Enjoy, my dear reader!

Balance is a short animation made in Germany, directed by twin brothers, Christoph Lauenstein and Wolfgang Lauenstein. It has won several awards, including Academy Award for the Best Short Film in 1990.