Search - Blood Tea and Red String on DVD

Amazing to see & savor!

William Timothy Lukeman | 04/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This would be an astonishing film under any circumstances, given its detail & dreamlike, sometimes nightmarish quality. Knowing that it was made by one person over 13 years only increases my admiration. Truly a labor of love! Rich colors, fascinating characters that capture both the innocence & exaggerated fears of a child's world, memorable images that seem almost archetypal -- just stunning. It has the look & flavor of a very old tale, repeated over countless generations. If you're looking for something different, something very far from the mass market animation that seems to exist solely to sell cheap merchandise, then you won't go wrong here. Most highly recommended!"

Deep, sweet, smart and beautiful

Jim | Los Angeles, CA United States | 11/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At first the idea of "dialogue free" scared me off, as did stop action animation, since Davy and Goliath and Gumby always freaked me out, but I read a review in Daily Variety that compared it to David Lynch and Beatrix Potter, so I had to check it out. WOW! Deep saturated colors, amazing music and most importantly deeply gorgeous storyline with phenomenal characters that really come alive. The layers of symbolism and the tragic tale of love and loss make this a MUST HAVE for film fans into Dali, Browning, Lynch, etc. Awesome!"

Magical and mysterious

wiredweird | Earth, or somewhere nearby | 03/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm really not sure how to describe this movie, so I'll start with the bare facts. Cegavske appears to have started from some art-school sketchbooks, and assembled a gorgeous stop-animation, supposedly taking 13 years to complete. She did all the design, scripting and animation, so this was clearly a labor of love. She created remarkable characters and sets, beautifully crafted. The composer she engaged for the score did an outstanding job, especially in the unearthly tones of the mouses' dance.

All of which says nothing about the characters and plot of the movie, which I still can't quite put words to. It carried the sense of a fully-elaborated dream world, but of someone else's dreams. The different beings seemed to act out rituals of deep importance, all of which eluded me. Rich, detailed imagery abounds, almost like the imagery of a Tarot deck - but with all of the arcane meanings unspoken. The viewer rides along in this wordless world, sensing the characters' urgency but never making out the reason for it.

Cegavske's puppets and props bring that baffling world to life. Even though this medium has been used for years in children's entertainment, make no mistake: this is for grownups. Skittish children might not tolerate the deaths of characters, or scenes like the "blood tea." A few moments drag; the script's pacing seemed uneven, and the puppet's motions never flowed smoothly. I can't let the little things get in my way, though. This stands as an incredible work of creativity, and a glimpse into another mind's imaginings.

-- wiredweird"

Dark Fairy Tale

Kristina Aikens | my own little world | 01/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This film is not for everyone, but if you like things that are truly unusual and artistic, without a lot of dialogue, check this one out. This is not a kid's movie, even though it's a fairy tale of sorts. The artist who made the film took years to hand-craft each "puppet" (for lack of a better word -- this is not Sesame Street...). If you like dark, artistic animation such as The Nightmare Before Christmas or Spirited Away, and/or darkly dreamy fairy tales such as The Company of Wolves or Ginger Snaps, and/or films about dreams such as The Science of Sleep, you might check out this film."