Some movie experiences with your family are not about story. Sometimes it’s just about the art, and convincing your children in an undemanding way that moving pictures are a medium for expression in countless forms.
In the entrancing documentary “Rivers and Tides,” the medium showcases the naturalistic sculptures of a physical genius. In a music film like “Stop Making Sense,” the moving pictures allow the creative sounds of the Talking Heads to merge with the director’s vision of Jonathan Demme.
An ancient animated film, in fact the oldest animated feature still viewable, is another odd marriage of traditional art and moving pictures. “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” is a captivating exploration of cutout paper art, the power of silhouettes, budding motion-picure techniques and fairy tales older than dirt.
“Achmed” was made in Germany in 1926 and uses the stark paper cutout technique to bring new life to some old Arabian legends. The black cutouts are unmistakeably Arabic, with curving minarets, plodding elephants and pillow-stuffed desert caravans. Animator Lotte Reiniger manipulates her cutouts against single-color backgrounds of yellow, light green and thunderstorm blue. To our jaundiced eye, the technique seems crude at first, then transforms into elegance as we appreciate the complexity of the art and the universal truths of storytelling.
Achmed rides a flying horse, stumbles into a spirited harem a la “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” and generally fights the bad guys in pursuit of a princess. Any of your children inclined toward the visual arts will find rich inspiration here, even after 10 or 15 minutes of film.
“The Adventures of Prince Achmed”
Rated: Not rated, best suited for art students of any age or children age 6 to 8.
