The Fan and the Flower (2005)
A narrator tells us the story of a ceiling fan, ensconced in the spare room of a house occupied by an old woman. The fan is lonely, and its life takes a turn for the better when the old woman puts a flowering plant in the spare room. A romance develops between fan and flower, until the old woman's decrepitude puts one of the lovers' life at risk. The fan must act.
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Thanks for the memories!
A Masterpiece!
it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.
Wow, Dan O'Shannon, what an exquisite, will-be-a-classic, little story you wrote, and narrated by one of my favorite actors, Paul Giamatti. I thought the narrative of the story transcended the sentimental ingeniously by having an ordinary ceiling fan as your story's protagonist and his love interest a diminutive, nondescript (for a time) potted plant. Their spiritual copulation reminded me of Donne's famous poem "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning":If they be two, they are two so / As stiff twin compasses are two; / Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show / To move, but doth, if th' other do. //And though it in the centre sit, / Yet when the other far doth roam, / It leans and hearkens after it, / And grows erect, as that comes home.//Such wilt thou be to me, who must / Like th' other foot, obliquely run; / Thy firmness makes my circle just, / And makes me end where I begun. I only wish The Fan and the Flower were in book form too, so I could read it to my grandkids...I would set it alongside George Saunders' The Very Persistent Gappers of Fripp. They'd love it! And I love your TV shows, Dan--Modern Family and all the rest--but I hope you also give us more of these gems...what a gift, thank you! And thank you for dropping in on my sister's class tonight in the snow! Your presence was magical and inspiring. :) Mary 3/30/2011
Fan and the Flower, The (2005) *** (out of 4) Nice animated short from Plympton about a lonely ceiling fan all alone in a room until one day when the old lady brings in a flower. The fan and flower eventually fall in love but soon the old woman forgets to take care of the flower and it finds itself dying. Okay, yes it's far-fetched that a fan and a flower would fall in love but the story here is just too cute where there won't be any problem suspending your disbelief. The movie isn't as colorful as some of Plymtpon's other shorts but I didn't have a problem with this as the black and white animation looked very good and fit the story quite nicely. I thought the story was pretty simple but they milked every bit of emotion they could out of it and in the end their love was actually quite touching.
Wonderful short film from Bill Plympton.The plot is simple a fan and a flower fall in love. To say more than that would spoil one of the most charming animated films ever made.Told with simple black and white lines this is a film that will move you. Its a simple tale told perfectly. I know when the film ended I was upset that it didn't continue on. The wishing of that was pure greed on my part since the film is exactly as long as it needs to be. there are no grand flourishes or showy pieces. Its simple economy.See this film. More importantly see this film with some one you love since in its way it will say more about how you feel then words can express
This is departure from Bill Plympton's usual work, which is not to say that his cadre of fans won't find it equally enjoyable.It is a charming little film depicting the unlikely romance between a ceiling fan and a potted flower. I know how odd that sounds but this engaging film makes it work. The cute little old lady shown only in silhouette reminds me of my own grandmother. And the sacrifice and twist at the end make for an enjoyable pay-off.You can get it over at www.Filmporium.com. The $5 DVD also includes the frustrated rodent tale "Gopher Broke" and the appealing short "The Hill Farm".