Balance short film won Academy Award for Best Animated Short of 1989.

I remember seeing this film in a theater with my socialist girlfriend at the time during an indie film festival in Minneapolis in 1989. The cold war was just ending and there was a big sigh of relief heard around the world - and we all had a better future ahead.

When one of the guys kicked the other off the platform, the entire theater moaned in horror. You can see a lot of Marxist ideology in this film.

All this was before 9-11, 10-7, the Internet, Ukraine, Putin. trump and the present Cold War.

These were happier times.

THIS SHOWS TEAMWORK

Brilliant ! ❤

Me pregunto si los números en sus espaldas tendrán que ver con la cantidad de veces que uno de ellos ha caído

333

thanks for posting this, ive been looking for it for years

We started watching this in philosophy but our teacher hasn't finished it with us yet because we're analyzing everything but now I know how it ends😝

I saw it on Greman TV, decades ago. It has more depth than you think. A platform and a couple of guys are enough to build a world.

The fact that they are numbered speaks to the fact that they no longer see themselves or each other as human, I think. This video has spoken to me since I was a teenager on a deep level.

Вы конченые дауны что вы смотрите это просто пиздец. Это же срань ебаная, я это посмотрел и у меня отпало желание спать 😭🙈

Why didnt they all enjoy it together? Are they stupid?

Fantástico. 😮

Frau Müllerziem fanclub 💕

I don't see anyone else in comments noticing these two things:
1. How they seemed to work so well together at the start.
2. How they coul have kept fishing for more stuff.

Connected to no. 2 - the last guy could still fish.

Now he has to stand there for the rest of his life.

square mamison retro

The last one was a Hund

Here goes my second comment, how guckin' amazing is this all around, sound design, shot wise, concept, conflict,......just WOW!!!!!

I can't believe I found this after all these years,........a friend of mine started bullshitting about weird live action movies, and animations, I remembered "THE BIG SNIT" "THE CAT CAME BACK" and eventually thought of this!!!!! It's so unbelievably ahead of its time, and gorgeous man vs. man, man vs. nature attributes,.......sooooo glad to of remembered this and finding it!!!!!!! (Thanks old underground vhs animation videos!!!!!)

I feel that this short film is a message on capitalism versus communism, as well as the lure of capitalistic gain. Allow me to explain.

The beginning of the short features five shadowy men. Their expressions, as well as their environment, tell us how cold and bleak their lives must be. They stand on a square board that must be balanced through cooperation and synchronization, whether they want to or not. On top of that, the backs of their jackets are numbered, much like how teammates on a sports team are numbered. They lack individuality through forced equality, which I find to be very reminiscent of a communistic government.

Once each of the five have reached the ledge of the board, they cast fishing rods out into the void below them. Much like immigrants incoming to a new, capitalistic economy, these men are rather blind on what they may fish up. Will one succeed in their work more than another? Will one simply get a lucky catch? There is no telling until the lure gets a bite.

And a bite comes their way, indeed. One of the men fishes up a dusty box from the void which plays an upbeat tune that reminds me of the Roaring 20s of America. Each of the men take turns in tilting the board so the box comes sliding their way, much to the chagrin of the others.

Eventually, a battle for the box ensues, and one by one the men fall off the sides of the board when the shifting of weight becomes too much to handle. One man even manages to hang on and dangle off the side, but the greed of the man above him is too much. He has gained what the others could not, and he wants to remain on top. So, he kicks the man into the void, leaving him alone with his box. This greed and lust for materialistic gain reminds me of the monopolies and power struggles we still see in capitalism today.

Not to mention the time that this film was made, 1989, which is also when the Berlin wall was torn down; a representation of both the rise and fall of the Soviet Union.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

When you fight and take it to far you might lose at the end with nothing to win and lead yourself to a problem without and end

I'm assuming this means that things can easily knock you off balance in life, meaning you have everything going well and then something destroys the good you have going on and throws you off balance making things bad and others fix it or you do.

The mood of balance is eerie the films settings and designs and overall feel a bit strange
It’s all dark colors they live on
A platform that they need to balance on and you can’t see much cause of how foggy it is

this is masterpeice showing how sad and droopy it gets when you dont have your team to balance it out but wh=ith you team everything is possible and everything is happy

This short film involves feelings of dread, doubt, and acceptance. It demonstrates the delicate balance of teamwork and personal gain, and how one must balance both elements to accomplish goals.

this is special for me as am currently studying about EQUILIBRIUM of FORCES in physics

Sitze gerade im Ethikunterricht… Mussten dieses Video anschauen und analysieren 💀

The main point of the movie is that people have to balance to survive and try to figure out what is in the box or what it does. The mood of the movie is dark and mysterious.

it has a lesson or the way you interpret the video it can either be greed is the downfall of this man or that team work is the only way to enjoy the box together

The mood was pretty dark and sad it shows how people can be selfish and keep everything for them selves. It was scary too because of the sounds and colors and the how the characters are built.

this is kind of weird.

The mood of this movie is creepy and depressing. Because of the lighting and no one talks

This was a good lesson for a film👌

Good

It’s a cool film

This was dark and sad but it got a point tho.

They don’t have mouths or hair

The characters and the silence of the video scare me.

The main point of balance is that for the things you want there will always be a cost you will have to let things go to get what you want.

The main point of balance is that for the things you want there will always be a cost. you will have to let things go to get what you want.

my teacher told me to leave a commennt for a grade, i think this is a waste of people time honestly and we shouldnt have watched it in class cause it was lame

The mood of the video is dark and depressing. The way the people are being perceived by their actions make it seem this way. Also the lighting of the video is pretty dark and the sounds pretty creepy.

This move mains the point of balance is about the delicate nature of team work and how balance works

In with out balance everything will fall and no one will win

The main point of Balance is about the delicate nature of teamwork and the choos that onsues when harmony is disupted. It shows that individual actions com have profound impact on group's well-being.

The mood of this movie is creepy, dark, and depressing. The sound and color is giving this mood. Also, the people and how they're moving. The sound is like scary and the colors are plain and dark.