The World of Movies: An Island
Written by Rachael Crawley
The World of Movies is a series that explores global cinema, drawing on films from many countries, industries and eras. This week, we travel to a small Irish island.
May contain spoilers. Yes, a thirteen-minute short can have spoilers.
In recent years, Ireland’s animation scene has really grown. Hits like The Secret of Kells (2009), Song of the Sea (2014), and recent Academy Award nominee Wolfwalkers (2020), as well as artistic contribution to non-Irish productions, have given Ireland a reputation for stellar animated pieces. As this week is St. Patrick’s Day, and I’ve been hoping to write about a short film for a while, I was really excited to research this developing field. Shorts, to me, have always been underrated as an art form – they can provide the complexity and emotional heft of a feature, but the constraints of the medium force them to tell the story in a concise manner, which can have incredibly creative results. An Island (Rory Byrne, 2017) takes the viewer on a journey of loneliness and grief without saying a word.
On an island off the Irish coast, a man prepares to climb a mountain. He has no dialogue, but the determination in his face is drawn clearly enough. A few quick frames (the film is rather given to montage) suggest his motivations for climbing, alone, at night. The frenzied strains of the score, the sounds of nature, and his own panicked breath show his growing fear and isolation. We follow him over the course of the night, in moments of hope and of despair. We journey, too, through his memories, and come to understand his single-minded resolve.
The art style is almost geometric, especially in the latter half; the film draws heavily on defined shapes and lines. The contrasting colours, especially shades of blue, gray and green, are also made distinct. Any bright colours, like the protagonist’s orange jacket, are made to stand out. This approach works beautifully for illustrating scenes of nature, such as a rotating flock of seabirds, the fog surrounding the cliffs, or the dark shadows of a crevasse. It isn’t as successful for the human characters, who seem a bit too cartoonish in contrast to the somewhat sleeker island and animals. The landscapes are a highlight. Using colour and shadow to create different moods, the island and sea are made vivid, as close as a picture can get to capturing the beauty of the Irish coast.
I particularly admire the way the film plays with light. Besides adding a shade of realism to the setting, it allows the rare glimpses of colour to shine, and highlights the protagonist’s emotional state. The mountain’s shadow looms over him as he begins his journey. Moonlight plays a role too, directing the protagonist’s focus in the face of this daunting task. In one scene, it appears that his entire life is collapsing into darkness. Later, a glimpse of sunlight suggests resolution.
An Island is beautifully drawn and scored. It is an excellent example of setting as an indicator of mood. Throughout the long night, the protagonist works against the elements and his own memories. With his world suddenly so narrow, he is forced to strip his life down to its core. It is a journey to the top of the mountain and to a sense of clarity. In the island’s solitude, the climber finds both fear and peace.
Rachael Crawley holds a Master's Degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, and has worked with film in Canada and in Europe. She adores language and cinema, and how these subjects interact with each other.