AFTER THE RAIN | Omeleto
10,774,762
Published 2020-01-18
AFTER THE RAIN is used with permission from Valerian Desterne. Learn more at myfrenchfilmfestival.com/.
A shepherd lives alone in a secluded valley, accompanied only by his flock of sheep and his loyal dog. The shepherd has a remarkable ability: he shears the sheep and creates clouds with the wool, which rain upon the valley, keeping it verdant and fruitful with plants and nature.
But when the shepherd passes away, the valley begins to become barren, and the sheep are in desperate need of shearing. The dog must find a way to continue the shepherd's work -- or risk the decimation of his home.
Created by students from the French animation school MoPA -- Valerian Desterne, Juan Olarte Zuniga, Carlos Osmar Salazar Tornero, Lucile Palomino, Juan Pablo de la Rosa Zalamea, Celine Collin and Rebecca Black -- this wise, gentle animated short uses its serene, whimsical visuals, storytelling clarity and an impeccable score to weave a beautiful parable about nature, balance, loyalty and legacy.
It charms the eyes and ears with its soft, rounded shapes and beautifully clear colors, rendering both characters and settings with sensitivity, grace and keen attention to detail and gesture to communicate emotion.
Whether it's in how the shepherd pets the dog or how the canine wags its tails, the love between the pair is well-worn and palpable, as is the dog's grief and bewilderment when the shepherd passes on. Yet there's also soft, good-spirited humor to be found, as when the sheep puff up with their exuberantly overgrown wool.
And like the best of animation, which uses its ability to imagine anything to create magic beyond realism, there's also a lovely sense of surprise and delight in its flights of fancy, as when viewers watch wool become life-giving clouds, with a whimsical lightness and buoyancy.
But it also doesn't shy away from the problems and dilemmas found even in this little corner of paradise, and when it becomes clear that the dog must find a way to continue his master's work.
AFTER THE RAIN really excels with its storytelling, and though its running time is less than nine minutes, it possesses the profundity, wit and wisdom of much larger narratives. Like many great stories of children's literature, it taps into the archetypal and symbolic, using universal emotions and dilemmas in service of moral and emotional clarity.
Using charm, humor and a sense of pastoral innocence, AFTER THE RAIN gently teaches a lesson about the interconnection of nature, as well as the way we honor a loved one's legacy and meaningful commitments. It places living beings with agency and the ability to act as a crucial part of the larger ecosystem, and in a way, implies that we are all shepherds looking after nature, picking up and continuing the work and responsibilities of the good spirits before us.
All Comments (20)
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So that’s why Australia didn’t have rain for a little bit. The rain maker was just sick. Thankfully his doggy figured it out and is saving Australia
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The dog was ready. So the old man left. Beautiful..
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Incredible film about grief. Not just the pain of loss but the struggle to keep going on with life when it feels like your wold is falling apart around, you still need to keep going.
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Детский мульт с "не детским" смыслом!!! Глубочайший смысл!!!! Нет в ЖИЗНИ безвыходных ситуаций!!!! Нужно, просто, посмотреть на проблему "под другим углом"! Решение найдётся, как, в мульте, само!!! Идея мультика - СУПЕР!!!! Анимация - достойная!!!! Масса положительных эмоций, за такое короткое время!!!! Спасибо, ТЕМ, кто, на высоком уровне, сделал свою работу!!!! Достойная работа!!!!! Браво!!!!!
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There wool grows like Minecraft sheep as soon as they eat grass they fluffy
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You know the french saying: “Après la pluie, c’est le beau temps”. Whatever it is, whether good or bad, it has come to pass.
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What a sweet imagination to take the softness of sheep's wool and transform it into a cloud to support the environment in which the sheep can continue to eat and grow and multiple. How the sheep takes from the earth and how the sheep give back to the earth is a lesson for us all.
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It's like I relived my fairy tale days of my childhood ❤. Nature is so beautiful and magical... I wish and pray we humans take better care of her🧿
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This feel like an ancient tale. I can immagine a Phoenecian father, puting his kid to bed telling this story.
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Beautiful story and animation.its Just old sheep herder died in the house and was never seen again. But this is what folkstories are made of. Legend has it his dog took over and has never died.
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Dog interprets that anyone have to adjust any situation without someone's help.. good moral... from Srilanka
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Lovely story, both sad and hopeful. The dog’s character and personality, and his loyalty, are heartwarming.
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I'll never look at clouds the same way again.
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With that beard & hair... I totally thought the shepherd would become a cloud himself....
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My goodness! This is too precious! How amazing your stories are! Well done! Bravo!
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The musical score, and it's timing, the directorial execution of which was flawless. Superb work all around! Kudos!
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Nothing personal. But whenever there is an old person having a good time in an animation you just know they gonna die
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The dog should have pups so that they can keep this up.
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This is such a sad story with such a cute and heartwarming ending! I almost cried!
