Every November 2nd, Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead. Closely associated with other Catholic holidays (All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day), the Day of the Dead gives participants a chance to pray for and remember dearly departed family members and friends. And it’s often carried out in a festive spirit, not one marked by melancholy. As Carlos Fuentes, one of Mexico’s most celebrated writers, once said about death: “We Mexicans don’t advance towards death, we return to it, because death is not the end but the beginning, the start of everything: we descend from death.”
Today, on the Day of the Dead, we give you a claymation film that captures the mood of the holiday – Hasta los huesos or Down to the Bone. René Castillo, a self-taught animator from Guadalajara, wrote and directed the film back in 2001. And it went on to win many international awards for excellence in film. Down to the Bone runs nine minutes, and it’s a wild ride throughout. H/T M.S.
Add a comment