Symphony no. 42
2014 · 10m · Hungary
Directed by Reka Bucsi
Genres: animation, experimental, surrealism
Tones: absurdist, surreal, whimsical
A wordless animated mosaic of 47 brief scenes that build a subjective, dreamlike world out of small encounters between humans, animals, and nature. Free association rather than plot links the vignettes, evoking the irrational coherence of everyday surroundings through absurd, surreal situations.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
47 scenes stitched together by pure dream logic instead of plot—exactly the kind of "wait, WHAT holds this together?" structure that makes consensus programmers squirm. Bucsi knows narrative is a crutch, and she ditches it entirely to let perception do the heavy lifting.
A disciplined formal exercise in associative montage that situates itself squarely in the lineage of experimental animation from Len Lye through contemporary abstract practice; the rigor lies in how deliberately each micro-vignette refuses dramatic or causal logic.
The singular choice here is the decision to make 47 micro-scenes function as one continuous perception rather than a collection—that commitment to treating micro-moments as equal weight creates a breathing, immersive texture that feels deceptively effortless on a modest budget.
Reviews
a 10-minute mini-masterpiece of absurd, hilarious and often bewildering vignettes
Festivals
- Berlin International Film Festival 2014
- Academy Awards 2015