2018 ‘Ce magnifique gâteau!’ Directed by Emma De Swaef, Marc James Roels
In 1885, Africa is a succulent cake destined to be wildly divided and everyone wants a piece. A disturbed European king, a Pygmy working in a luxury hotel, a successful but lonely businessman, an enslaved porter, a young army deserter, a ghostly clarinetist. Some benefit from colonialism and greed. Others suffer racism and violence.
Jean-François Le Corre Mathieu Courtois Emma De Swaef Marc James Roels Peter Mansfelt Steven De Beul Ben Tesseur Ben Tesseur Koen Vermaanen Paul Mathot
Beast Animation Pedri Animation Vivement Lundi ! ARTE CNC Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds Le Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral de Belgique Van Hecke Consult Comm. V. Basok BVBA Région Bretagne PROCIREP Agence Nationale de Gestion des Œuvres Audiovisuelles (ANGOA) Netherlands Fund for Film
It's like someone gave Buñuel a box of felt and showed him an article about colonialism. This is a compliment
A perfect film to show that one conservative friend obsessed with his 'Belgian heritage'!
Absolutely wonderful! Worth it just for the gorgeous woolen stop-motion animation but the way it turns one of it not the darkest chapter of Belgian history into a genuinely funny comedy is of an equally impressive level. Yes, it pokes fun at atrocities of an inhumane level but only does so to completely ridicule the side of the oppressors while simultaneously showing empathy for the enslaved inhabitants of Congo. Narratively speaking though, I do have some reservations. The fact that it's only 43 minutes long and technically an anthology story is great. It doesn't overstay its welcome and knows how to tell each little story with enough effect to not let them outperform each other. However, with the…
The kind of film that can go, in the blink of an eye, from pure visual bliss as it depicts a rushing waterfall made of wispy cotton, all the way to shattering horror as several fuzzy woolen characters tumble to their deaths over the same. The textures feel both tangibly real and wholly imaginative, whimsical and bleak in equal measure. It's almost too brief to really work as the indictment of Belgian colonialism it sets out to be - 44 minutes for five short stories is blazing fast - but the surface-level charm and spiritual anguish contrast with each other in a powerful way that tells all that needs to told about the rot at the heart of this system. An exceptionally unique and essential animated featurette.
While it comes together, the storytelling was probable a little too diffused for my tastes. Does have some absolutely awesome macabre scenes that'll stay with me!
A animação e a técnica desenvolvida são fenomenais, mas nada me tira a ideia de que é um curta sobre colonialismo belga, feito por brancos belgas e se tratando de brancos belgas, com todo o núcleo africano tendo quase que nenhuma importância e mostrando aquele esteriótipo bizarro da "África Exótica".
E o pior, com uma história que, com certeza, não precisava se tratar de colonialismo. Foi gratuito e mal desenvolvido.
o visual da animação é de outro mundo, e cada anedota tem seu mérito narrativo próprio a ser apreciado. mas acho que faltou mais incisão crítica? não é nenhum segredo o que a europa fez com os povos da áfrica, e senti que as mensagens poderiam ter sido mais rígidas (focar um pouco mais nas personagens nativas do congo, talvez, ajudaria)
Gorgeous and unpredictable, and also features the most disturbing stop-motion felted snail in cinema history.
Using stop-motion animation with felt puppets, De Swaef and Roels take an anthology approach to the Scramble for Africa that is equal parts hilarious and humbling. In five parts, they tell the stories of both colonizers (a haunted king, an unlucky clarinetist, a belligerent meat monger-turned-explorer, and an army deserter) and the colonized (a Pygmy bellhop, and a porter who briefly survives drowning), finding in their tales a surreal fatalism that is as damning to imperialists as it is delirious in scope.
It’s incredibly difficult to juggle disparate tones while maintaining a firm grasp on the material, yet they pull it off. The film swerves from bitingly comic to intensely tragic—often in the same scene, and yet it always feels…
Nothing screams pathetic white male dominated power complex’s more than slavery, colonization, and pastries. In Emma De Swaef’s and Marc James Roels newest film, concepts on privilege, race relations, and the pitiful downfall of humanity are the building blocks for their magnum opus This Magnificent Cake!, a partly satirical retelling of the inhuman effects of colonialism on both the rich and the imprisoned. After a 6 year Hiatus from there traditional non-commissioned work, Cake stands out as one of their finest work, and one of the most important films to be seen in the 21st century.
Similar to films like The Battle of Algiers and the surrealist liking's of Luis Bunuel, Cake manages to detail the harsh environment of the…
Superbly wacky, hilarious animated medium-length film (44 mins). Cloth/fabric stop-motion style with a funky story from the late 1800s make it a gem. Love these kind of oddball delight discoveries.
Never heard of it before, but as I was on an evening adventure of interesting cinema, popped it on from a recommendation through my streaming service, and holy hell was this amazing and unique. Dark history, beautiful execution of stop motion and truly engaging and otherworldly.
I don’t know what’s happening.
Why is it over?
I want more.
Forever.
Also it gives me heavy Lovecraftian horror vibes, intentionally or not.
at the beginning i was enjoying this a lot. i mean, the animation was beautiful and the story started pretty interesting, but as the movie was going, i was starting to feel more and more uninvested.
the thing is, at the end, i didnt understand some choices by the directors to try to make the story more understandable, so i finished this very disappointed
Obra curiosa.
A belíssima técnica do stop motion com lã (que coisa mais linda de se ver) ilustra histórias antológicas curtinhas que compõe a narrativa de situações vividas por personagens distintos (que ocasionalmente se conectam) durante a colonização belga do Congo. Existe um tom fantasioso em todas as situações, ainda assim, fica claro: o branco colonizador é um grande cuzão. A critica esta lá, ainda que talvez possa parecer sutil para alguns.
Senti falta de aprofundamento diante dos personagens nativos, com certeza a história do funcionário do hotel foi uma das mais interessantes, ainda assim.
Visualmente hermosa y muy triste.
Siento que las texturas y la narración a veces pasan a que parezca una película de terror pero al final se mantiene del lado de la tragedia.
Que horror el colonialismo.
An amazing and horrifying portrayal of “white guilt”.
I heard some comments criticizing the movie because was not centered around African people and their suffering from the colonization we see in the movie. I disagree with these because then that would have a completely different movie. This movie is not capitalizing on the sufferer but the one who causes that suffering, and how grand the damage that is caused.
We do not see these white characters being glorified in any way. In fact, it is the quite opposite (fittingly so). The characters are not likable and are drunk on their privileges.
Even the most likable/neutral white character (in the last story) is shown benefitting from the suffering of others. Even…
A superbly animated 40 minute film consisting of 5 short stories. It's imaginative, funny, and poignant in a similar way to the directing duo's 2012 short Oh Willy. The sound design is excellent too.
Shout out Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels for further proving the superiority of stop motion. I look forward to their next project.
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