Balance (1989 film)

1989 German film

Balance

Directed by| Christoph Lauenstein
Wolfgang Lauenstein
Distributed by| Material-Verlag

Release date

* 1989 (1989)

Running time

| 7 minutes
Country| Germany

Balance is a 1989 German surrealist experimental[1] stop-motion animated film directed and produced by twin brothers Wolfgang and Christoph Lauenstein.[2][3][4]

## Plot

[edit]

The film depicts five individuals standing on a small platform floating in an empty space.[5] These men are all identical apart from a number at the back of their coats: 23, 35, 51, 75, and 77. Whenever one of them moves, the platform tilts and the others must move as well to ensure that the platform does not tip over. They all move out to the edge of the platform, take out fishing rods, and cast their lines over the edge. The one numbered 51 reels in a large, heavy box while the others scramble to the opposite side of the platform. One by one, the individuals inspect the box: it has a wind-up key that causes the box to play music, but at such a low volume that only the man nearest the box can hear it. As each man in turn moves to inspect the box, the platform becomes unstable, prompting each of the group to converge in the center to keep the platform from tipping over. The man with the number 75 attempts to tip the box over the edge, but number 51 counterbalances the platform to prevent it. These two scuffle briefly, causing the box to slide to number 23, who tap dances to the tune as the others look on. 75 moves away from the center of gravity, tipping the platform and causing the box to slide toward him, but 23 sits on top of the box and moves with it.

The added weight moves the box to the very edge of the platform. The others rearrange themselves to bring the box back to the center. Riding the box as it slides from side to side, 23 pushes 35 off the platform as the former slides to the very edge. The others rearrange themselves again to compensate for the loss of mass. 51 trips and falls over. 75 shoves 77 to the ground as he avoids the careening 23. 77 scrambles to the opposite edge as 23 moves with the box again. 23 kicks 75 off the platform, unbalancing the platform and causing 77 to fall over the edge also. 23 gets off the box, approaches 51 and kicks him over the edge. Now alone, 23 turns around to look at the box, which is perched on the edge farthest from him. Without the others, 23 has to maintain the balance on his own, keeping the box out of reach. One step back and he falls, one step forward and the box falls. He can only watch as the box slowly winds down and plays its music, which 23 is unable to hear.[6]

## Legacy

[edit]

Balance was commissioned by German group Alphaville as part of their Songlines project for their 1989 album The Breathtaking Blue. For Songlines, the video was set to the song "Middle of the Riddle" from that album.[7] Lauenstein said of the video, "its visualization is not a literal illustration [of the song], which would be impossible in any case, but comprises a complete, autonomous story on its own."[7]

### Accolades

[edit]

Set to different music, Balance won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short in 1989.[8][9][10]

## Further reading

[edit]

* Olivier Cotte (2007) Secrets of Oscar-winning animation: Behind the scenes of 13 classic short animations. (Making of '"Balance") Focal Press. ISBN 978-0-240-52070-4

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Short of the Week
2. ^ May 18, Owen Gleiberman Updated; EDT, 1990 at 04:00 AM. "The XXII International Tournee of Animation". EW.com.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
3. ^ "XXII INTERNATIONAL TOURNEE OF ANIMATION". August 17, 2012.
4. ^ Hicks, Chris (May 8, 1990). "Film review: XXII International Tournee of Animation, The". Deseret News.
5. ^ Balance (1989), an Academy Award-winning stop-motion short|The Kids Should See This
6. ^ 1990 Balance: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive
7. ^ a b The Breathtaking Blue (2021 remaster) liner notes (Media notes). Rhino Entertainment. 2021.
8. ^ Short Film Winners: 1990 Oscars
9. ^ 1990|Oscars.org
10. ^ Beaten by Beginners - Animation Obsessive

## External links

[edit]

* Balance at IMDb
* The Lauenstein Brothers' website

* v
* t
* e

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film

1932–1950|

* Flowers and Trees (1932)
* Three Little Pigs (1933)
* The Tortoise and the Hare (1934)
* Three Orphan Kittens (1935)
* The Country Cousin (1936)
* The Old Mill (1937)
* Ferdinand the Bull (1938)
* The Ugly Duckling (1939)
* The Milky Way (1940)
* Lend a Paw (1941)
* Der Fuehrer's Face (1942)
* The Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943)
* Mouse Trouble (1944)
* Quiet Please! (1945)
* The Cat Concerto (1946)
* Tweetie Pie (1947)
* The Little Orphan (1948)
* For Scent-imental Reasons (1949)
* Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950)

1951–1975|

* The Two Mouseketeers (1951)
* Johann Mouse (1952)
* Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953)
* When Magoo Flew (1954)
* Speedy Gonzales (1955)
* Magoo's Puddle Jumper (1956)
* Birds Anonymous (1957)
* Knighty Knight Bugs (1958)
* Moonbird (1959)
* Munro (1960)
* Ersatz (The Substitute) (1961)
* The Hole (1962)
* The Critic (1963)
* The Pink Phink (1964)
* The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics (1965)
* A Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature (1966)
* The Box (1967)
* Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968)
* It's Tough to Be a Bird (1969)
* Is It Always Right to Be Right? (1970)
* The Crunch Bird (1971)
* A Christmas Carol (1972)
* Frank Film (1973)
* Closed Mondays (1974)
* Great (1975)

1976–2000|

* Leisure (1976)
* The Sand Castle (1977)
* Special Delivery (1978)
* Every Child (1979)
* The Fly (1980)
* Crac (1981)
* Tango (1982)
* Sundae in New York (1983)
* Charade (1984)
* Anna & Bella (1985)
* A Greek Tragedy (1986)
* The Man Who Planted Trees (1987)
* Tin Toy (1988)
* Balance (1989)
* Creature Comforts (1990)
* Manipulation (1991)
* Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase (1992)
* The Wrong Trousers (1993)
* Bob's Birthday (1994)
* A Close Shave (1995)
* Quest (1996)
* Geri's Game (1997)
* Bunny (1998)
* The Old Man and the Sea (1999)
* Father and Daughter (2000)

2001–2024|

* For the Birds (2001)
* The ChubbChubbs! (2002)
* Harvie Krumpet (2003)
* Ryan (2004)
* The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation (2005)
* The Danish Poet (2006)
* Peter & the Wolf (2007)
* La Maison en Petits Cubes (2008)
* Logorama (2009)
* The Lost Thing (2010)
* The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011)
* Paperman (2012)
* Mr Hublot (2013)
* Feast (2014)
* Bear Story (2015)
* Piper (2016)
* Dear Basketball (2017)
* Bao (2018)
* Hair Love (2019)
* If Anything Happens I Love You (2020)
* The Windshield Wiper (2021)
* The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (2022)
* War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (2023)
* In the Shadow of the Cypress (2024)

* Submissions for Best Animated Short Academy Award

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