Religion
is supposed to hurt a little. That’s how you know its working. Like a medicated
balm, first it stings and then it soothes. Animator Nina Paley maybe doesn’t
quite see it that way. She explores Exodus, Passover, and her own family’s ambiguous
relationship with Judaism from a feminist perspective in Seder-Masochism (trailer here), which screens during this year’s Sitges Film Festival.
Paley’s
endlessly inventive feature debut, Sita Sings the Blues, was such a blast of pure animated delight, it is inevitable
her sophomore feature will look like disappointment in comparison, so let’s try
to set Sita aside for the present moment.
In some ways, Paley repeats the same formula, mixing animated mediums, as well
as the sacred and the profane. The net results are nowhere near as charming,
but there are plenty of raucously funny and strangely beautiful moments.
Paley
goes Old Testament on us, but her soundtrack is hip and hummable, including
Gene Kelly & Donald O’Connor’s “Moses Supposes,” Louis Armstrong’s “Go Down
Moses,” Josh White’s “Blood Red River Blues,” John Lennon’s “Woman,” Led Zeppelin’s
“Your Time is Gonna Come,” and Pat Boone’s “The Land is Mine.” Frankly,
watching Paley match up music to each segment is a good deal of fun. In fact,
it is probably safe to say this film can claim the greatest use of “Free to Be
You and Me,” probably ever.
On
Paley’s drawing board and animation imagers, every notable event in Exodus eventually segues into a lavish
MGM-style production number, which is cool. At its best, it is a slightly
tasteless religious comedy, in the tradition of Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part I and Wholly Moses!—the sort of amiably
tasteless film that probably couldn’t be made with live actors anymore.
Sometimes
Seder is quite droll, but there are
times when Paley sabotages herself by introducing real news footage, including
scenes of carnage from the many wars of self-defense Israel has been forced to
fight. Honestly, nothing kills the mood quicker than September 11th
footage. No matter what her intentions that just creates all kinds of bad
karma.
Still,
there are some droll moments in the interviews Paley recorded with her late
father, wherein he explains why he still observes the traditions of his Jewish heritage,
even if his own faith is a bit iffy. She also creates some wonderfully sly and
subversive images. However, the film lacks the joyous uplift that made Sita so special (ultimately, there is
just no avoiding comparisons).
Paley
is an extraordinary animator, who is drawn to big, significant themes. However,
Seder will probably be regarded over
time as a relatively minor work from her. It is worth seeing for her visual
artistry and taste in music, but fans of Sita
should temper their expectations. Amusing but not transcendent, Seder-Masochism screens this coming
Tuesday (10/9) during Sitges and Friday (10/19) as part of Animation is Film in
Los Angeles.
