Balance is a 1989 German CGI animated film that received an Oscar for that year and is a rather interesting, albeit flawed experiment.
Balance is about five men floating in space on a platform. One of them fishes out a box and they all start exploring it, while having to balance on the platform. Now, the story does not mean anything particularly besides of course being an allegory of the fall of Soviet communism. But it doesn’t lead to anything because the characters are one-dimensional and all looking the same and because the ending no matter how memorable, is still too ambiguous in nature.
But it is such an entertaining and above all endlessly original piece of work from Germany. It deserved its Oscar for the sheer inventiveness and authenticity it possesses. The animation is also really good and so groundbreaking because having in mind this came out in 1989, the CGI still looks pretty good and is not dated at all, at least to me it isn’t. The character design is good and the overall atmosphere is very eerie and very well maintained. The sound design is pretty mediocre unfortunately, but the animation is great and the story, although vague, is still so original and riveting.
Balance is such an original work with weak sound editing and vague story, but it is such a riveting short with spectacular animation for the time, great atmosphere and authentic setting and plot.
Balance Review
