Ave Marija

A very strongly anti-American film, with a sort of militantly hateful undertone, interspersed with shots of the Virgin Mary and shots of drawn Vietnamese women, American soldiers shooting defenseless Vietnamese children, and the last third consisting only of documentary footage of anti-war demonstrations, all accompanied by Schubert's “Ave, Maria”. The animation is not very attractive or inventive, which was probably the author's intention. The idea is too one-sided and, given the country of origin, somewhat questionable. And the way Ivanov-Vano juxtaposes the Statue of Liberty and the biblical icon of Mary in the final interlude is almost too much to bear. (26/07/2013)