Screen Critix regulars, producer Diane Mellen and director Stacey Stone give us a computer-generated animation set just after a war and based on a true story by writer Anthony Cesario. Here is our review of The Ranger & The Backpack.
If the short films we receive here at Screen Critix HQ were given a star rating based solely on the timing of their arrival, then The Ranger And The Backpack would be right at the very top. No sooner has Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine, throwing the whole world into panic mode, than regular contributors Diane Mellen and Stacey Stone provide us with a timely animated short film that focuses on the psychological effect that war has on the individuals involved. Hopefully, we can get this review published online before World War III breaks out.
We were first introduced to Director Stacey Stone after we received the excellent Man Behind 55’000 Dresses, but since then she has helmed many war-themed documentaries that focus on certain aspects of conflict, particularly the psychological effects war has on the people involved on the front line. My Own War focused on how PTSD affects those who serve their country, while Gander: America’s Hero Dog, told us the touching story of service dog Gander who was used as a therapy pet for veterans.
The Ranger & The Backpack follows a similar path to Stone’s recent documentaries but it is completely new and original. Running at 5 minutes 30 seconds, Stone uses computer animation to tell us her tale, and over the opening credits, throws us into a number of different war scenarios with grenades, Helicopters, and missiles. We are introduced to what seems to be a WWII soldier suffering from the pain and stress of the war he has been fighting. His backpack is the symbol of his struggle and his life.
Narrated with gravitas by Joel Asher, we are told that the backpack is our soldier’s friend, his pain, his heart, his soul, but most importantly it’s his story. We quickly learn that the story contained in this bag is in desperate need of being unpacked. Through the computer-generated images, Stone manages to create a whole world of deserts, fields, forests, and mountainous vistas. The soldier’s feelings and thoughts pop out of the screen and fall one-by-one into the backpack.
He begins to unravel but at the very moment he reaches rock bottom, he suddenly finds a purpose. As the very fitting military-style music swirls to a crescendo, he begins to build a bridge, something he can use to support himself and others just like him.
More people who have their own baggage join him, and together they create a support network that lessens the burden for every single one of them. The animation, despite coming across as quite basic, is a mixture of The Sims and The Deathly Hallows story from the Harry Potter films, but it is very effective in telling the story that, thanks to the director and her writer Anthony Cesario, is beautifully paced.
The Ranger & The Backpack is an uplifting war film that reveals the goodness of humanity in its darkest times. Like most of Stone’s work, this short piece of animation is deeply pacifist, but also revolutionary, leading us to think critically about the leaders who bring us into conflict.
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