The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer is a visually haunting animated short film about two brothers who share the scars, though not the memories, of an untold history that has driven them to existential extremes. Combining high-speed camerawork, striking art direction and intricate animation sequences, acclaimed visual artist and filmmaker Randall Lloyd Okita crafts a poetic elegy to connectedness and survival.
Citation
Main credits
Okita, Randall Lloyd (film director)
Okita, Randall Lloyd (screenwriter)
Okita, Randall Lloyd (narrator)
Okita, Randall Lloyd (performer)
Fukushima, Michael (film producer)
Mohammadian, Maral (film producer)
Other credits
Animation & VFX supervisor, Sam Javanrouh; director of photography, Samy Inayeh, CSC; music and sound design, Lodewijk Vos & Joseph Murray; editing, Mike Reisacher.
Distributor subjects
Arts Education - Visual Arts; Families - Interpersonal Relationships; Family Studies/Home Economics - Family Diversity and Challenges; Media Education - Film Animation; Psychology and Psychiatry - Family Life; Psychology and Psychiatry - Psychological Processes; AnimationKeywords
WEBVTT
00:00:09.959 --> 00:00:12.874
(narrator): I guess
you could say this is the story
00:00:12.875 --> 00:00:13.750
of two boys who were hurt
00:00:13.751 --> 00:00:16.416
when they were too young
to fight back.
00:00:16.417 --> 00:00:21.250
You can\'t tell someone they\'re
wrong about their own memories.
00:00:34.542 --> 00:00:37.667
(static)
00:00:45.667 --> 00:00:48.125
(birds chirping)
00:01:32.667 --> 00:01:34.374
Now, about the Weatherman.
00:01:34.375 --> 00:01:36.791
It\'s not that he wasn\'t aware
of himself.
00:01:36.792 --> 00:01:39.874
It\'s not like he would look
in the mirror
00:01:39.875 --> 00:01:41.124
and not recognize his own face,
00:01:41.125 --> 00:01:44.916
or that he would forget
the address of his own house.
00:01:44.917 --> 00:01:48.749
And he didn\'t actually think
he could tell the future.
00:01:48.750 --> 00:01:51.333
(train chugging)
00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:55.207
He knew to do one thing well:
00:01:55.208 --> 00:01:56.582
he had to show up.
00:01:56.583 --> 00:02:00.666
He knew that was the first thing
most people didn\'t do:
00:02:00.667 --> 00:02:02.749
arrive on time.
00:02:02.750 --> 00:02:06.499
He saw you\'d already be starting
ahead of the crowd,
00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:09.165
just by being there
bright and early.
00:02:09.166 --> 00:02:12.542
Not that it was always bright.
00:02:18.500 --> 00:02:19.541
He would repeat things,
00:02:19.542 --> 00:02:22.207
bits of things he read
and things he heard said
00:02:22.208 --> 00:02:26.542
by all the people he thought
were smarter than him.
00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:29.874
He knew confidence
went a long way.
00:02:29.875 --> 00:02:32.374
And he happened
to live in a world
00:02:32.375 --> 00:02:33.582
where nothing was for certain.
00:02:33.583 --> 00:02:39.333
That being the case,
he practiced telling stories.
00:02:45.750 --> 00:02:48.542
(weather report music)
00:02:55.417 --> 00:02:58.999
He thought the world kept moving
because people had to show up.
00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:01.999
It didn\'t matter
if they were early or late,
00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:03.374
they were arriving.
00:03:03.375 --> 00:03:05.541
And people like to start
with an idea
00:03:05.542 --> 00:03:07.999
of what things
are gonna look like,
00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:10.624
even if it\'s wrong.
00:03:10.625 --> 00:03:12.750
(soft music)
00:03:13.792 --> 00:03:15.791
You know,
his brother used to say
00:03:15.792 --> 00:03:17.749
that people would travel
a long way
00:03:17.750 --> 00:03:19.457
to listen
to the best-sounding lies.
00:03:19.458 --> 00:03:22.874
To hear the truth,
you just had to stand still.
00:03:22.875 --> 00:03:27.333
But not a lot of people
want to do that.
00:04:01.417 --> 00:04:04.624
The Weatherman knew
that he was better at showing up
00:04:04.625 --> 00:04:07.290
than he was at getting it right.
00:04:07.291 --> 00:04:08.416
But sometimes,
00:04:08.417 --> 00:04:11.457
it\'s not the future
that\'s the problem.
00:04:11.458 --> 00:04:13.667
(thunder)
00:04:28.166 --> 00:04:29.917
(buzzing)
00:04:32.750 --> 00:04:36.582
Now, his brother,
they call him the Shadowboxer.
00:04:36.583 --> 00:04:40.124
His friends would never
have to ask him twice
00:04:40.125 --> 00:04:43.333
to stand up and fight for them.
00:04:43.542 --> 00:04:44.791
Although once he started,
00:04:44.792 --> 00:04:48.124
they might have to ask him
more than once to stop.
00:04:48.125 --> 00:04:52.040
If you needed his last dollar,
it was yours.
00:04:52.041 --> 00:04:53.499
He knew loyalty
was more important
00:04:53.500 --> 00:04:57.917
than saving for something
that no one could count on.
00:05:01.333 --> 00:05:04.416
He was never gonna let himself
become the kind of person
00:05:04.417 --> 00:05:06.082
that talked about real estate,
00:05:06.083 --> 00:05:09.582
like it was really possible
to own something,
00:05:09.583 --> 00:05:13.125
even if you spent
most of your life trying.
00:05:17.458 --> 00:05:18.874
He saw the problems that started
00:05:18.875 --> 00:05:20.874
the moment people thought
they deserved something.
00:05:20.875 --> 00:05:24.833
He would see how people
could lie to themselves out loud
00:05:24.834 --> 00:05:27.124
just to protect their pride.
00:05:27.125 --> 00:05:30.249
So he spoke
as little as possible,
00:05:30.250 --> 00:05:33.125
and mostly with his hands.
00:05:43.625 --> 00:05:44.791
He felt at home in bruises,
00:05:44.792 --> 00:05:47.624
and he\'d recognize himself
in the scars
00:05:47.625 --> 00:05:50.290
that would grow into his skin.
00:05:50.291 --> 00:05:50.834
(barking)
00:05:50.835 --> 00:05:55.917
It was the rest of the time that
he felt like he was pretending.
00:06:12.875 --> 00:06:15.792
(thunder)
00:06:20.458 --> 00:06:23.166
(train whistle blowing)
00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:28.916
In the mornings after,
00:06:28.917 --> 00:06:31.207
when his body
was asking for help
00:06:31.208 --> 00:06:32.208
and only he could hear it,
00:06:32.209 --> 00:06:36.624
he would feel most himself,
like his body was remembering.
00:06:36.625 --> 00:06:39.874
So for a moment,
he didn\'t have to.
00:06:39.875 --> 00:06:43.041
(phone ringing)
00:06:44.417 --> 00:06:47.250
(ringing)
(static)
00:06:49.417 --> 00:06:51.959
(ringing)
00:06:54.250 --> 00:06:56.708
(ringing)
00:06:59.041 --> 00:07:01.458
(siren wailing)
00:07:08.375 --> 00:07:10.333
(thud)
00:07:26.291 --> 00:07:28.332
(static)
00:07:28.333 --> 00:07:31.333
(glass breaking)
00:07:34.375 --> 00:07:37.666
They say the difference
between a child and an adult
00:07:37.667 --> 00:07:41.082
is understanding
what it really means
00:07:41.083 --> 00:07:42.165
to say goodbye.
00:07:42.166 --> 00:07:45.666
This is a story of two boys
who were hurt
00:07:45.667 --> 00:07:49.374
when they were too young
to fight back.
00:07:49.375 --> 00:07:51.624
There\'s no limit
to the amount of distance
00:07:51.625 --> 00:07:54.749
a child will manufacture
to protect itself.
00:07:54.750 --> 00:07:57.416
They spent years
trying to figure out
00:07:57.417 --> 00:08:00.833
where someone else\'s crimes
ended and they began.
00:08:00.834 --> 00:08:04.332
They couldn\'t agree
on their past,
00:08:04.333 --> 00:08:06.958
even if it meant
losing the only person
00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.374
that they shared it with.
00:08:09.375 --> 00:08:12.290
You can\'t tell someone
they\'re wrong
00:08:12.291 --> 00:08:14.667
about their own memories.
00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:27.290
The crime that was forced
on them as children
00:08:27.291 --> 00:08:30.207
grew into the habit
of holding a secret.
00:08:30.208 --> 00:08:33.750
Telling stories, a distance.
00:08:35.208 --> 00:08:39.624
To face the impossibility
of living without someone...
00:08:39.625 --> 00:08:45.750
is also the opportunity
to live with more of yourself.
00:09:08.208 --> 00:09:10.750
(soft music)
00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:35.750
Subtitling: CNST, Montreal