Recently, I read that teenagers resist reading young adult fiction but instead look for adult material, while younger children, hoping to get a peek of teenagerhood, would read about high schools and puberty. According to this cycle, it makes me wonder if adults miss the comfort of children’s fairy tales. This may be true in a way. Occasionally, when the exhaustion from work and life pile up on a rainy day or a Friday night, it is too easy to simply want to crawl under the blanket with a mug of hot soup and watch a little something. If that’s the case for you, perhaps you’d like to watch the short, animated film Crowboy.
Some stories don’t need grand adventures or spoken words to touch the heart. Upon receiving a feather from a crow, a boy journeys through the forest to return it. While the story seems simplistic and features a little boy, the black-and-white color palette and the overall artistic style make it very accessible to adults and children. Throughout the film, the narration remains soothing and calm, like a mother telling bedtime stories. It’s easy to appreciate how patient the voice is as if it would love to pause the story and answer a few questions. It was in no hurry to finish telling it and rush the listener to bed, but subtly delivers a vibe that keeps us in the moment. It has a melancholy atmosphere, an ache of loss but a note of hope; the sadness also partly comes from the grey tone of the animation, which evokes a sense of nostalgia—like an old photograph found in a forgotten drawer.
As the boy embarks on his quiet journey to return the crow’s feather, the world around him feels alien yet friendly. The woods, with hidden trails and extending branches, bewilder him and isolate him, just like how adulthood confuses us. However, unexpected strangers can become accompanies, and kindness can attract those alike: While it might seem like a common child’s night-night story trope to have repetition, the friends he made one after another lead him to the destination are lessons and memories that would resonate more with a compassionate adult. The seeds the boy plants on the journey grow into vines that weave him a protection net. In this case, fairy tales, simple stories, can certainly be meant for adults, especially at a time when we are ready to release the feelings we tuck away and reflect on the pieces of moments we were sometimes too busy to savor.
Objectively speaking, Crowboy is not an eye-opening piece that evokes strong emotions. It isn’t complex or too challenging, nor is it only meant for a good time or to leave a smile like a heart-felt little snack. It is unique, though, with a combination of a child’s story, a deeper message coded with mysterious lessons (which is subject to interpretation), and a somewhat contrasting aesthetic. It is worth watching more than once to chew on it for a couple of minutes more and have an intellectual discussion with whoever is by your side.
Crowboy screens at the New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, February 8th alongside two other films including Embryo (Joy Waldinger) and The Storm & The Boats (Jody Small). The film will be available online for 24 hours on this date as well as in-person (weather permitting) at 7pm in Voorhees Hall room 105 at Rutgers University (71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ). Tickets are available for purchase on the festival website here.
The 43rd Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between January 24-March 2, 2025. The Festival will be a hybrid one as it will be presented online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VoD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person screenings. Plus, acclaimed singer-songwriter Renee Maskin will be doing an audio-visual concert on Friday, February 21 at 7PM and there will be a special benefit in-person screening of the film Bucha on March 2 at 5PM! The in-person screenings and the Renee Maskin concert will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5PM or 7PM on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$120; Bucha Benefit Screening=$20; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program.
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