When a young girl wakes up with a hangover after getting drunk in her dream, she finds herself with a ring and memories of a charming ‘man of her dreams’. In another world on the other side, the ‘man of her dreams’ resolves to claim his woman. He crosses the ‘wall of the beards’, to come into our world only to realize that he had erred gravely in his calculations. Once in the world, he follows his heart to claim his woman even though she is a lot many years older than him. But the world is not quite simple to negotiate. It is a time of revolution and turmoil. The world is heading towards an apocalypse and the end seems near. The resistance breaks down into factions and the government tries all the dirty tricks in the book to shut them down. Will our man get his woman? Will the Church of the Kneeling Devil be able to save mankind?
The kneeling devil is an animated feature written, directed, illustrated and animated by Levin A Diatschenko. Using pictures and line drawings, he creates an engaging medium of storytelling with his style of animation, where the rough edges are what one looks forward to and enjoys the most. The narrative is an intelligent mix of the whacky, the philosophical, the metaphysical and the profound. The writer-director has cleverly hidden away a lot many easter eggs along the way, and with each viewing, new discoveries can be made. The effective use of Intertitles for the dialogues and the change of fonts to indicate a change in the dialect is one example of this enjoyable madness. The music commands a special mention as the background score plays a vital role in holding the various mood swings of the film together.
Considering the fact that this entire 50-minute animated feature was illustrated and produced by a single person on a phone, the film elevates itself to higher ground with this achievement. The Kneeling Devil is definitely NOT a one-time watch. It deserves to be watched repeatedly for its craft and its message, both of which are fresh and unconventional.
