Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) This is a 6-minute short film by Polish animation director Tomasz Baginski. He made this one only in his mid-20s as it was an early career effort by him and this is also the movie that got him the Academy Awards nomination. However, I personally believe that this is not his best work and that he improved steadily during his career. It is a bit sad to see that he has not yet made a feature film. But he is still not even 40, so it may happen one day. This could easily become one of the best animated films of the year. He certainly has the talent. And even if I do not consider this film his best, I would have been fine with it winning the Academy Award. But for some reason, they awarded the very forgettable Chubbchubbs that year."Katedra" is brilliantly animated and it must be quite an experience to watch it on the big screen unfortunately one that nobody will ever have again. There is not too much action, it's all about the style and the atmosphere. The music helps it too. The last 90 minutes, however, are packed with action then, maybe to make up for the first 5 minutes where not really a lot is happening. It's certainly worth a watch. Recommended and please Mr. Baginski give us that feature film at some point..

ackstasis On a far distant planet stands a immense cathedral, seemingly derelict and lifeless. A solitary traveler stands before the crumbling columns, silently watching and waiting. The film leaves countless questions unanswered, its dialogue-free script allowing for the visuals and music to tell the story, and for the viewer to fill in the blanks. Where is this beautiful planet? Who is this lone traveler? Why has he made this pilgrimage to such a remote cathedral? Indeed, who actually built this cathedral, and for how long has it stood here?Tomek Baginski's animated short film, 'Katedra / The Cathedral,' is a fascinating and visually-stunning journey into the unknown, and a philosophical exploration of the nature of religion. It is based upon Jacek Dukaj's short story of the same name, and was created using 3ds Max, a full-featured 3D graphics application developed by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. The CGI visuals, which allegedly took three years to produce, are nothing short of perfect, every frame as beautiful as the last. With no dialogue to speak of, 'Katedra' also relies heavily on its choice of music, and the steadily-building electronic track used during the film's climax is wonderfully rousing.The conclusion itself is worthy of some discussion, though I'll stop short of giving away what actually happens. What could this ending actually be implying? That a religion is comprised solely of its believers? Could the pilgrim's faith have allowed him to become a part of something wonderful and glorious? This, of course, is without considering whether or not the traveler knew what was about to happen when the sun made its dazzling appearance. Whatever your interpretation, there's no denying that this film is simply a thing of beauty.

Bonegang This is a mysterious, Gothic, fantasy vision crafted from the story by Polish sci-fi author Jacek Dukaj. There is no dialogue in the piece, only a haunting soundtrack that complements the expertly rendered CGI. And what great animation this is: a sense of gentle foreboding permeates every part of the beautiful and grandly scaled cinematography that is reminiscent of H.R. Giger with a dark palette in twilight shades and the surreal organic feel to the 'architecture'. The story starts with a young man leaning on his staff, taking in the huge vista of a sun setting behind a redly lava-rous world that takes up half the sky. As the line of night races past him we take in the scale of what can be seen to be a cathedral, behind him. He appears to sigh inwardly and turns to walk into the huge 'building'... You will probably watch this short over and over again back to back, as I did and, apparently, as did the jury of Siggraph 2002 that awarded this piece their prestigious "Best Animated Short" by unanimous vote. Since this is Tomek Baginski's first major release, I will look out for his subsequent work: to set such a high standard from the start could indicate a rare and special talent.

verbalcontract Although perhaps a little light on story, Cathedral is a near-perfect display of computer-generated filmmaking. Rich in lighting effects, computer-designed architecture, and visual invention, the film is just great to watch. As mentioned earlier, the story is a little weak, as the filmmakers chose to tell their story with visuals rather than dialogue. However, because of the fantastic visuals and inventive storytelling techniques, the filmmakers' messages are effectively conveyed. While I don't think this could be the best short film of the year, it is certainly one of the best to look at.