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6.3/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.3/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Japanese Lanterns remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have five minutes and a weird obsession with animation history, sure. If you need a movie with a coherent plot that makes sense, skip this one. It is basically a hallucination on celluloid.
There is this family, right? They make lanterns. They are really good at it, too. Then a storm hits and everything goes sideways.
The way the lanterns just float away is kind of haunting. It’s not like a normal storm where things break—it’s like the sky is hungry for these paper lights. It just eats them up.
The kids try to grab the strings, which is a terrible idea. Before you know it, they are up in the air too. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Alice at the Rodeo, where things just start flying around because the animator decided, why not?
There isn't much dialogue. Just sound effects and that scratchy music you get with these really old shorts. Sometimes I think the silence is better.
I found myself wondering if this was meant to be sad. Watching your livelihood blow away in a gale usually is. But the kids look like they are having a blast, so I stopped worrying about the family finances.
It’s nowhere near the scope of something like Knocknagow, obviously. It doesn't try to be. It just wants to show you some floating shapes for a while.
The animation style is… well, it is what it is. A bit jerky, a bit loose, but it has that handmade charm that makes you forget how dated it is. Sometimes, less is more. Or in this case, less is just a very strange five minutes of my life I’ll never get back. 🎐
I caught myself staring at the background textures. They look like they were painted with a shaky hand, or maybe just a very tired one. It’s lovely, in a weird way.
Don't look for deep meaning. Just watch the pretty lights go up, up, and away. And maybe don't try to catch them if you value staying on the ground.