How Long, Not Long: Short Film Review
It’s been a long year. It’s been a difficult year, especially recently with the presidential election, a tumultuous time for anyone in the country. However, as usual, art can ease one’s mind. How Long, Not Long is a short film directed by Michelle and Uri Kranot, in collaboration with Erik Gandini. This film is an animated documentary, and although that sounds contradictory, this film is a beautiful and moving piece of artwork.
Michelle and Uri describe their film as “A visual journey that challenges us to think about a universal belonging that doesn't confine itself to a city, region or national boundary in an age where xenophobia, nationalism and intolerance are ubiquitous.” From this initial description you may think to yourself, “how do you achieve this powerful message in less than six minutes?”, but this is where their artistry shines through. This film has no dialogue, no characters, nor any narrative. The only audible element is Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech in Montgomery, Alabama on March 25th, 1963. As the film begins and we hear Dr. King say, “How long will prejudice blind the visions of men?”, we see the KKK marching, then we see a woman being prepared to be burned at the stake. This speech and this question are where the film gets its title, as Dr. King proclaims, “How long? Not long”. Once the reassurance of “not long” rings from Dr. King’s voice, we see a man put his hand on the shoulder of another man who’s pleading from his knees. The same reassurance we hear from Dr. King’s speech, is the same reassurance Michelle and Uri are able to convey through this film.
The entire film’s animation, done by both Michelle and Uri Kranot, along with Marine Duchet and Karsten Hoop, is what is called “paint on footage”. The paint strokes of this form of animation are much deeper and visually tangible than most styles of animation. Without any color, it is very easy to tell how serious something may be just from looking at how faint or deep the color is. However, with paint strokes, the assumption is that the painter themselves put more physical effort into their deeper and broader strokes, which makes this form of animation so powerful. When we see deep hues of red or blue it’s as though the emotion is pulling an entire frame into itself. An excellent use of the medium.
The film’s visuals are individually spectacular, but in conjunction with the score (composed by Uri Kranot), the film becomes even more powerful. The score and the film’s visuals are in sync with each other in terms of pace, this never changes. The score, however, begins with only a few, quiet instruments, then progresses to be an entire orchestra. The visuals match this, with only a few people on screen, to unfolding to show the groups of people banding together all across the world. It’s marvelous what Michelle and Uri are able to do by making the visuals and music work in tandem because as the viewer, you can almost sense the crescendo of the message of how we are all in this world (and its struggles) together.
The film closes out with a sad scene of a polar bear melting into an ocean, then a stopwatch running out of time, then a montage of people’s eyes in every color you can think of. There are some things in the world that are running out time. Michelle and Uri reinforce the power of working together, as we are all people living in this world. How Long, Not Long is about togetherness and how whatever struggle it may be, it shall not last long as long we are all in this together.
