Mubi.com has listed short films titled “Animated Desires” that explore the range of human sexuality and its expression.
A befitting list to explore on every Pride Month, I wanted to approach the films as an asexual and discover what sexuality looks like on the spectrum.
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Nun or Never
What happens when you pull out a man from a potato field?
A Finnish film, Nun or Never, is a silent protest against the forced celibacy of women through religious institutions.
Directed by Heta Jäälinoja and produced at Böhle Studios, the film explores the possibility of desire inside an abbey. Amidst the choirs, the heavily draped bodies, and the routine, a nun finds a man and lets nature take its course.
The film uses color, shapes, and motion to convey her feelings. Her cheeks glow red, her yellow pencil (the same color as the suit of the potato man) turns limp (make of that what you will), and a red swimsuit in her otherwise monotone wardrobe.
Nun or Never is dreamy and playful, exploring the hidden wishes and desires and how they are suppressed in the face of reality.
Pussy
Cipka a.k.a Pussy is a solo exploration of female sexuality and pleasures.
Directed by Renata Gąsiorowska, Cipka is a silent Polish film that conveys the desire to be alone and to play with the lady parts. The art is simple line work, minimal, yet detailed, representing the act.
There’s nothing more to the film except the anatomy of southern lips that expand, purr, and experience joy when in contact with various shapes and textures.
Tram
In a similar vein, Tram explores lustful feelings but in a public setting.
Imagine being a woman in heat, a tram driver, and onboarding only men. The French film is exactly that. There’s nothing much going on except for the intense desire of the driver, her hyperactive imagination, and suggestive sex via tram equipment.
However, one might sense female loneliness amidst the frames that do not hold back in graphic details and expressions via colours and rhythm.
Desire Pie
On the theme of graphic details, Desire Pie, an American animated erotica from the 70s, probably qualifies as the true erotica from the list.
Directed by Lisa Crafts, the film brings forth the bedroom intimacy and illustrates the changes in bodies during arousal, plateau, and climax.
It uses trippy colors and shapes to convey orgasms experienced through many bodies, genders, and sexualities.
Toomas Beneath the Valley of the Wild Wolves
Any film enthusiast looking for gigolos in animation, this one is for you.
An anthropomorphic wolf sets boundaries and refuses sexual advances at the workplace. The result? He is fired.
Bound to a family with growing expenses, Toomas explores the gigolo industry to keep his family fed and his wife happy. Directed by Chintis Lundgren and Draško Ivezić, this Estonian short film explores BDSM themes and extramarital affairs born out of financial crunch and familial responsibilities.
Asparagus
Right from the start, this one truly disgusted me.
A 1979 US film by Susan Pitt, Asparagus is unhinged, dreamy, and surreal.
Borrowing words from Federica Giampaolo Suzan Pitt’s ‘Asparagus’ (1979): Female Sexuality as a Cage: “The film is a chaotic take on the chaotic nature of sex in a patriarchal society.” It’s better to read Federica’s interpretation of the film than mine.
Read: Suzan Pitt’s Asparagus (1979): Female Sexuality as a Cage
#21XOXO
With its vibrant use of colors, popular icons, and online dating culture, #21XOXO, a Belgian animation film, focuses on the curated intimacy in social media posts rather than on actual connection.
This one is my favorite from the lot.
Directed by the sisters duo Sine Özbilge and Imge Özbilge, #21XOXO is a fabulous job done in vector art, pop colours, and mimics transparency (alpha channel) in the background. The film centers on a young girl whose entire offline personality is her online avatar. From social media clothing to Internet Explorer earrings to eating “likes” as chips, #21XOXO is a witty take on how desires are met in the information era and questions their depth.
Bug Diner
I watched Bug Diner long before it was listed under “Animated Desires.” It caught me off guard.
An American short film directed by Phoebe Jane Hart, Bug Diner anthropomorphizes bugs and expresses human desires through them, the kind that may be randomly felt at the workplace or eateries, between strangers and partners.
Technically, the film is pretty detailed for a stop-motion product using wire armatures, smokes, and crochets.
Maurice’s Bar
Maurice’s Bar deserves a bit more care when talked about because it is a historically significant short film apart from also being a queer expression.
Based on the life of Moise “Maurice” Zekri, the French and Israeli film concludes with his introduction as “1879-1942. Born in Algeria. Lived in Paris. Died in Auschwitz.”
Directed by Tzor Edery and Tom Prezman, Maurice’s Bar illustrates gay oppression during the Nazi reign in France. The film is flamboyant with drag queens, voluptuous line drawings, sensual color palette, and unapologetically free commentary on things queer people find sexy.
Also, read: Maurice’s bar (2023) by Ricardo.
27
Concluding the Animated Desires review with a French and Hungarian film seeking freedom from sexual frustration.
Directed by Flóra Anna Buda, the film centers on a 27-year-old woman living with her parents amidst a job crisis and rising housing costs. It also explores themes of privacy and dating limitations when living with family.
27 illustrates the raunchy and imaginary escapades of a woman who feels trapped at home with limited options to move out.
Final Thoughts
Queer is the norm, everything else was just allowed to exist and thrive.
Animated Desires didn’t make much sense to me, but people have rated them five stars and left reviews.
While most films focused on animating the spectrum of human desires, few fused aspects that control, express, or oppress them. Indian films like Macher Jhol from Abhishek Verma also qualify to be on the list.
Overall, the short films make a decent watch, and you might find them enjoyable.
Also read: The search for queer representation in animation genre
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