Away

• Title: Away (2019)
• IMDb: link

For those looking for an alternative to big studio animated features this holiday season, you may wish to check out Away. Presented without a single word of dialogue, the story follows an unnamed protagonist pursued across an island by a giant golem. Opening with our character’s parachute stuck in a tree, one of many lasting images from the film, we follow him through the island making a friend in an island bird before setting out across the island in hopes of discovering civilization.

The silent animated film is one of the year’s unexpected surprises. Written, produced, and directed by Gints Zilbalodis, Away is presented in a dream-like 3D animated style where the journey (not our protagonist’s final destination) seems to be of paramount import. While more abstract than something from DreamWorks or Pixar, and closer in tone to Studio Ghibli, Zilbalodis worked for three-and-a-half years to produce his singular vision on film. Although rough in certain areas, for the right audience the quiet journey of our lost hero, and a tiny bird, is certainly a journey worth taking. In limited release in L.A., Away is available for streaming on Amazon.