By Charlyne Nguyen
The Netflix animated movie “Canvas” has a run time of nine minutes, which makes some viewers not expect to see an in-depth storyline. However, the film manages to carry it out astonishingly.
“Canvas” deals with an elderly painter grieving over the loss of his wife, his life muse. Throughout the film, he has to find his new source of inspiration in order to paint again.
I remember seeing the promotion for it on Netflix one day, and I ended up adding it to my list on Netflix since it looked pretty interesting. I came into the short film already having a general idea about the plot summary, but as the nine minutes passed by, I found myself enamored by the film’s detailed 3D animation and emotional impact from its writing.
As a short film, there is no dialogue outside of sound effects and music from violins, violas, cellos and more. The wide variety of musical instruments emphasized the different atmospheres of the film. It is when the music stopped that I realized the mood changed from sunny and bright to loss and loneliness.
The film’s visuals are especially well-done, shifting between the bright and lively 3D animation to one sudden shift towards 2D animation in a scene that complimented the movie’s focus on the painter’s passion for his art and painting. We follow the artist on his journey to find his own inspiration and are touched by it when he realizes true inspiration has been with him the entirety of the time.
This isn’t a full-fledged blockbuster film, but it sure packs in raw emotion and short yet sweet storytelling.
If anyone is ever trying to kill a little time from their day, this film is a great way for anyone to take a quick nine-minute break from their busy lives.
