FANTASIA FEST 2023: ‘Mother Land’ Showcases The Beauty Of Animation

Mother Land (Eommaui Ttang) is an animated film that is written and directed by Park Jae-beom with Lee Yun-ji, Kim Seo-young, Lee Young-nyu, Kang Gil-woo, Ye-Eun Kim, Yong-nyeo Lee, and Kim Seo-young lending their voices to the film. The film screened at 2023’s Fantasia International Film Festival and, despite its short runtime, Mother Land  packs a big emotional punch.

The Yates are nomadic, indigenous reindeer herders who have lived on the Siberian tundra for countless generations. The focus of this story is Krisha, a strong-willed and impetuous Yate girl, who is quick to fight for her way, whether it’s with her little brother Kolya or with the bullying Russian military officer Vladimir and his surly subordinate Bazak, a Yate hunter who has lost touch with his people and their connection with the land. When the health of Krisha’s mother Shura worsens after she saves her child, the village shaman offers Krisha wisdom. To save her mother, Krisha should follow the North Star to the Ancient Forest and find its guardian and master, the great red bear of legend that has haunted Krisha as she traveled with her family before Shura’s illness.

At only an hour long, Mother Land is a gorgeous animated film at home with the greats like Princess Mononoke in theme and exploration. Director Park Jae-beom creates a beautiful world that embodies the natural world so holistically that you can feel the cold through the screen, and at the same time,  myth and fantasy are alive and well, bringing a magic that captivates. Showcased at Fantasia as “the first South Korean stop-motion feature film in almost half a century,” Mother Land is one of the most gorgeous explorations of grief, culture, and environmental protection that you can watch.

Extremely digestible in its theme, the film also doesn’t compromise its whimsy and beauty to show darker elements at play. A gripping adventure, the stop-motion animation and the 2D backgrounds blend into one beautiful animated story that will leave you gasping in your seat. The scope of director Park’s vision is vast, and yet the techniques used to bring it to life are painstakingly intimate. Tactile in every way, Mother Land uses every visual element it can to pull the viewer in and submerge them in the Arctic, keeping you still by the serene animated landscapes that also present a harrowing obstacle for Krisha, with more danger hiding in the snow.

One of the hardest things to do through stop-motion animation is to capture emotion, and in Mother Land, emotion is a driving force. Whether its through the backgrounds and interaction with objects or the faces of our characters, there is an attention to detail in this film that makes every element of the frame craft a beauty and emotional atmosphere for the audience.

Mother Land is a gorgeous stop-motion animated film that shows the beauty of the medium. The film captures fantasy, atmosphere, and survival together in a tremendous display of artistry. This film is filled with heart and character development that’s beyond belief.

Mother Land was screened as a part of the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival programming.