Hello everyone 🙂
Here at The Peach Review® we’re happy to present the many cultural events that occur in our city. One of the many big events that happen every year is the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF). So for the next 9 days you’ll find reviews from screenings we’ve attended and hopefully the reviews will inspire/motivate you to see a film yourself 🙂
“Blinky & Me” is a wonderful film documenting the life of animator Yoram Gross. Perhaps you’ve seen one of his amazing cartoons as a child? His most famous of which would be the cuddly Koala character known as Blinky Bill.
“Blinky & Me”, a film directed by Tomasz Magierski, is just one of many amazing movies screened at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. We traveled to Atlantic Stations’ Regal Cinemas for this screening (and what a venue choice). Before the film began we heard a few words from Emory University’s Dr. Eddy Von Mueller, a professor of Film Studies. As he was explaining the art of animation and its impact he said one key phrase that resonated with me for the rest of the film: “What you see in a cartoon comes from a part of the directors’ life.” He continued speaking but that short quote had me thinking for a few minutes even into the start of the film. (Remember this quote).
Being a WWII survivor Yoram Gross tells his grandchildren many stories of survival, adventure, and how he came to animation. It was great to see grandchildren so young, so enthused, so excited, about learning the history of their grandfather. Gross is originally from Poland (currently residing in Australia) and wanted his family to know his roots and where he came from. So most of the film takes place in Poland, showing his family where he used to live, the many trades he and his family picked up, and tales of love, escape, and friendship.
There are so many amazing stories told by Gross in this heavily informative documentary. The one thing I’ll mention is a moment when Dr. Mueller’s quote came full circle. Yoram was telling his grandchildren about a time when he and his mother were separated and he had no idea where she had gone. The film cut to an episode of Blinky Bill (which I remember oddly enough) where Blinky begins to cry and says “my mama…. I can’t find my mama!” I find moments like this amazing when everything comes together exactly how it was explained. Again I don’t want to give away too much but the stories Yoram gives in such detail at his age are absolutely incredible. It’s a film about his life as much as it is history in 1st person detail. I can happily recommend such a great film and give it a 9 out of 10.
For more information you can visit the “Blinky & Me” website HERE
-TPR