To See or Not to See
1969 · 14m · Canada
Directed by Bretislav Pojar
Genres: animation, comedy, fantasy
Tones: contemplative, humorous, whimsical
This animated short personifies the cautious inner voice that keeps people out of trouble but also holds them back, playfully suggesting their worst fears are sillier than they seem.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Pojar's got the conceptual hook—anthropomorphizing anxiety as a nagging inner voice—but the execution plays it straight where it could've gone delightfully weird; the whimsy keeps it safe when subversion could've made it unforgettable.
A formally elegant study in character design and expressive animation that sits comfortably within the Czech New Wave's humanist tradition, where abstract psychological states become concrete visual metaphors—Pojar's restraint and clarity make the philosophical work breathe.
The film's entire success hinges on the voice of that cautious inner character—the decision to make it simultaneously sympathetic and ridiculous through performance is what transforms a one-note premise into something that actually lands emotionally.