There are small people wearing hats in the society. They die; they are cleaned away. In a room they wait. Men roll dice.
It was the oddity of the title that drew me to this short animation, but it was the determined oddity of the world of the film that kept me engaged through several viewings of the film. Note I did not say 'informed' but rather engaged, because even after several viewings I would really be at a loss to explain to you how the world of this film functions or precisely what is happening within the film. In terms of the world it feels like it is a functioning place, but yet it us eerie and unsettling in terms of the view on it we have. The key thing for me is that the film seems to have full knowledge of its world and story, and this is what makes it compelling – that it has control over the film and the viewer, even if I had no idea what was going on.
The animation itself was beautifully done, with simplicity suggested by the design, but actually a lot of work and complexity in there. It is not a film I would recommend as a story or one I think people would love, but certainly it is an experience to enter this world – so tangible, so sure of itself, yet so impenetrable.