KAKTUSO PASLAPTIS

THE MYSTERY OF THE CACTUS

Directed byValentas Aškinis
Years1989
Original versionLithuanian
Available formatsDCP, MP4, ProRes
GenreAnimation

Creative team

Written by Vladimiras Piekaris
Cinematography by Antanas Abromaitis, Alfonsas Trišus, Algirdas Šimkus
Music by Faustas Latėnas
Animators Valentas Aškinis, Anatolijus Abarenovas, Aleksejus Bukinas, Henrikas Vaigauskas, Andrėjus Ignatenko, Vincas Jurelevičius, Zenonas Tarakevičius

Artists

Jūratė Leikaitė, Rima Maminskaitė, Jolanta Šiugždaitė

About the film

A debut film by Lithuanian animator, screenwriter, director, and producer Valentas Aškinis is based on Vytautė Žilinskaitė’s fairy tale. The animated film starts with a trivial every-day event while playing a boy touches a cactus and is hurt by its needle. In anger, he sends an arrow at the cactus. It is at this moment that a world of fantasy opens before the audience. It’s full of good spirits which come not only to the wounded cactus but also the evil-ridden heart of the boy. Will he ever understand that only sacrifice will lead to salvation and revival? This film starts the practice of using a dash-and-detail graphic technique in Lithuanian animated film production. This device creates a particular sensation of space.

A classic, Lithuanian fairytale interwoven with a number of paths that all lead to the prickly truth that – ultimately – love triumphs over anger.

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