It’s curious to think about which childhood memories stay with us, and which disappear. As an adult, it feels like my brain is an aging computer — often getting that “startup disk is full” message, forcing me to hastily drop a clutter of old memories into the trash bin to free up space. But then there are the special memories that we keep around, saved in “do not delete” folders and backed up on external hard drives. These memories are often of formative experiences that have shaped us. Other times, they’re hung onto for more ambiguous reasons: strange, seemingly random events thats significance has not fully developed.
Today’s Staff Pick Premiere from director Kangmin Kim depicts an early memory that has stuck with him. As a child growing up in Korea, Kim was often sick. As he recalls, “my parents tried many different types of health food, believing they would make me healthier. Deer blood was one of them.” Drinking deer blood doesn’t seem like the type of thing one would easily forget and his film “Deer Flower” is a recount of this impressionable day. Utilizing 3D printing, textured 2D printouts, hand-drawn animation and 35mm film, Kim creates a uniquely styled, autobiographical world.
The richly dimensional characters and sets create a harmony of form that resemble the way we recall our early memories. It feels a bit staticky, influenced by others’ retelling and all the while saturated by personal feelings, tastes, smells, and sights. With his distinct technique, Kim invites the viewer into this memory and shares the sensations of drinking blood from a deer’s antler. If the craft alone does not blow you away, we have a feeling that his reaction to the blood is one that you will not forget.
Check out more of Vimeo’s Staff Pick Premieres here.
