An Owl´s Zest & Quirks

“A journey like a chase.” After having just met, a young woman and her local companion take a car trip in Georgia. There is laughter, dancing, and drinking. But without warning, the casual atmosphere constantly switches with a tense scenario: An anthropomorphous owl appears to cling to the protagonist like a shadow, a second person, and engage in a subliminal conflict with her companion. The characters carry out both play and the fight by means of animated choreography: man, woman, and bird-creature embrace, threaten, and repel one another while also simultaneously attracting each other. Arendt´s affinity to dance and performative means of expression is shown here: “… because a great deal is transported through the movement, which cannot necessarily be shown in a still or in a fixed pose (Janina Arendt 2010). The minimal visual level results in additional concentration on the protagonists´ interplay. The black-and-white cartoon animation drawn with an ink pen is heavily stylized. There are no backgrounds and not even all essential objects in the plot are fully sketched out. The bird as a metaphorical figure already played a role in Arendt´s early work. Whereas it had clearly positive connotations in Wibbel-ich&Glück (2007) and initiates the protagonist´s liberating transformation, the owl in An Owl´s Zest & Quirks oscillates—similar to its mythological significance in various cultures—between constructive and destructive symbol. The woman is able to ultimately gain the upper hand in the battles on this associative, animated journey. She triumphs over her alter ego, the owl-creature, wins the game, and flies away with a sigh of relief.
(Franziska Bruckner)
Translation: Lisa Rosenblatt