Filmmaking is a collaborative process: even the most fanatical auteur directors have to enlist the help of others to bring their visions to the screen. But in the case of stop-motion animation, anyone with enough time, creativity and sheer bloody-mindedness can theoretically make a movie all by themselves.
That more people don¡¯t is probably a reflection of how arduous the process is. Takahide Hori spent seven years toiling on his debut feature, ¡°Junk Head,¡± and a few more trying to raise funding and get the film released. After receiving a warm reception at overseas festivals in 2017, it¡¯s taken so long to arrive in Japanese theaters that its cult movie status seems preordained.
While it would be inaccurate to describe ¡°Junk Head¡± ¡ª which started life as a half-hour short ¡ª as a one-man creation, there¡¯s little that Hori wasn¡¯t involved in, from the direction and cinematography to the music and visual effects. At times, it can feel like watching an overgrown child playing with their toys, though I don¡¯t think many kids have toys as cool as these.
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