Papiroflexia. a Wonderful Story, Beautifully Told

“A wonderful story, beautifully told.”

An origami tale of a skillful paper folder who could shape the world with his hands.

I’ve never seen anything quite like Papiroflexia. The creator is Joaquin Baldwin, who also made the creepy/adorable Sebastian’s Voodoo. At 25, Baldwin is establishing himself as a major artist with a unique voice.

This animated film is about a rotund man who practices origami, the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. He also seems to have Harry Potter-style powers of transfiguration. Most of the objects in his apartment are made out of paper, including his pet cat. He’s just in the process of making a new friend – a mouse, no less – when he’s rudely interrupted by the noisy traffic outside his apartment window. He resolves to do something about that, by folding cars into antelope, planes into birds, and ultimately the entire cityscape into an undeveloped tract of wilderness.

The movie’s politics are decidedly back-to-the-earth liberal, but it doesn’t shove them down your throat. Nick Fevola’s exquisite original score and Baldwin’s pastel-colored animation lend the film a gentle, almost comforting quality.

Sebastian’s Voodoo took place in what was basically real time, so it’s fun to see Baldwin play tricks with time and space here. The transitions show an expansive creative mind at work, like when we hear the roar of a plane, and the camera pans up to show the hero riding on its wing. A wonderful story, beautifully told.