A Single Life (2014)

A Single Life Review

A Single Life is a 2014 Dutch animated short film that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It’s an interesting flick.

When Pia plays a mysterious vinyl record single, she suddenly knows how to travel through her own life. This is an extremely existentialist movie that invites audiences to think about their own mortality and the passage of time in a very quick, but effective way. It’s very short at just about two minutes, so it has no time for more character development, but the character’s facial expressions are so well animated that they tell the story surprisingly well.

The highlight is the animation, which executes its premise potently. The pizza slices disappearing and reappearing and eventually the protagonist reversing or escalating in age made for such memorable imagery that is both funny and disturbing in its own right. The score and sound are both excellent too. The movie deserved its Oscar nomination, but I wished for a longer runtime as the premise is so amazing that it could have yielded stronger results.

A Single Life is an overly brisk, but effective short about mortality. It makes its impact through strong animation and overall terrific execution.

My Rating – 4.2