I remember I first saw "Window Horses - The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming" at the 2016 Ottawa International Animation Festival. It was the first time I had gone to the festival, and all the feature films being shown weren't generating any particular excitement. Among them, "Window Horses" was the only Canadian feature film. Canada has a reputation for great independent animation, in part because of the National Film Board of Canada and their funding efforts towards such artists (not trivial to assume support from as an artist, but that any dedicated fund exists for short films at all is a marvel), and Canada also has a thriving children's animation industry, whose works are seen on television across Canada, the USA, and around the world. However, Canada doesn't really have any feature film animation to speak of, aside from the occasional co-production for a project centered in Ireland, England or France. In fact, I've heard some industry professionals say that Canada typically had a BAD reputation in animation, as nearly everything that is produced, be it television or short films, looks like it was made by a single artist, allowing for a more artistic voice, but seeming generations behind the USA, Japan, or Europe. "Window Horses" is written and directed by one of the NFB's go-to animators: Ann Marie Fleming. Well respected in her field, this is her first feature film (if not counting 2003's "The Magical Life of Long Track Sam," an animated documentary about one of her relatives), based off her graphic novel and featuring a stick-girl character that seems to exist as a persona character in some of her online work. Her past short films use a similar stick-figure style, purposely limited, and features stories based on real immigrants trying to make sense in their new surroundings. One can find an extensive filmography on her Wikipedia page, but it seems poorly kept to assume it lists everything in appropriate detail. Anyway, her go-to art style is an artistic choice, but also generally ugly, and her go-to themes in storytelling are important, but better suited to art and culture rather than entertainment. It's a perfect example of the type of short films the NFB is known for, for better or for worse. To make a feature film in this style might seem ill-advised.And as the film opens, it is clear that Fleming's style hasn't changed. The story is about Rosie Ming, a generic stick figure with a triangle dress and a buret hat living with her Chinese-Canadian grandparents. She writes poetry in her spare time, and in the first few minutes, learns that she is accepted as a guest and competitor to a poetry convention in Iran. Iran? Rosie had never been to Iran, why would they have a poetry event of all places? While her grandparents are reluctant at first, they agree to let Rosie go, but not before explaining to her that her biological father is not dead or gone (her mother had passed long ago), but was a prisoner in Iran, and that Rosie always had this hidden connection to the country. So Rosie travels to Iran, learning about the country's love of poetry (a far cry from the common perception of the country by Western citizens), meeting international poets with varied histories, and secretly trying to find information about her long lost dad.So the story is about cultural heritage again, and the art features flash-animated 2D puppets and stick figures. From the opening minutes and right to the end, this movie looks like something a ten-year-old would make and put on Youtube. There are moments where some nice effects are used to express emotion and beauty in the country and with the spoken word, most of which were animated by "guest" animators, but these still don't look particularly impressive, compared to connected-anthologies like "The Prophet". For some of the characters, this makes their designs seem especially odd, with beady eyes and puppet mouths. It's good that the story is a more grounded drama, and so it doesn't particularly require a lot of animation. In fact, you could choose to close your eyes entirely and still enjoy the story.
So thank goodness the story is good, and surprsingly funny and heartfelt! I was impressed with how well-written the script was, which is not something I notice often with animated work. Some of the jokes make good use of the limited animation (Rosie packs a bunch of pink triangles, "skirts", in her suitcase as her only attire as a stick figure) and of her youthful generation (early in the film, a friend is surprised there would exist a poetry competition in Iran of all places). The cast of international characters each have different personalities, some with personal stories they reveal, and all have unique attitudes to their art and what poetry means to them and to the world. The voice cast, led by the well-known Canadian actress Sandra Oh, all do a great job with the characters. And the individual poems, many written or translated by Fleming herself, are also quite beautiful.As of 2018, the film still gets limited screenings across the world, and despite initial hopes by Fleming in a interview in Ottawa, a larger distribution never materialized. The film was partially crowdfunded and a DVD was one of the expected bonus gifts, but as of now, such a thing has not been made public for fans to own. It's a shame "Window Horses" didn't win any prizes at the festivals it screened at... while a poor example of animation itself, it meant well, and the story and script itself makes it a signficantly better example of art and entertainment than most independent works can manage. Especially if you like poetry, this movie is worth the effort to seek out.