26/06/2024 - This Mexican short animation tells a moving story about loss and revival, reminding us of the uplifting feeling of being alive by inviting us to follow the circle of life from above as well as below

The winner of the Children and Youth Competition at this year’s Animafest Zagreb, Nube by Mexican directors Diego Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera Estrada and Christian Arredondo Narváez, borrows its title from the Spanish word for “cloud”. Fittingly, it tells the thunderous but touching story of a baby cloud and her mother.

Viewers would be quite surprised by the synopsis of the film, which indicates the cloud is a girl, given that the little stormy character’s restless, unruly behaviour would normally be associated with a boy. She’s constantly defiant, bursting out with thunder, lightning and heavy rain. Her mother, a fluffy cirrocumulus, continuously follows her, ready to calm her down with a hug full of motherly love and acceptance, but also concern, and the plot plays with this contrast between childish recklessness and mature wisdom.

Besides restlessness, our tempestuous protagonist is also characterized by playfulness and curiosity. She enjoys being tickled by a plane flying by, and instantly sets about chasing it, enthusiastic at the discovery of a previously unknown feeling. The passengers of the plane, however, are less entertained by her presence, as her innocent game creates a great deal of discomfort due to rising air pressure in the cabin. The film shows the different kinds of impact this cloud’s “behaviour” has on humans, drawing a delightful parallel between the celestial perspective and the terrestrial.

Nube does an outstanding job of anthropomorphising the clouds and creating allegories of human emotions. The cloud motif mediates between the events pertaining to internal nature, or the soul, and to external nature, or the environment, underlining their interconnectedness. Portraying anger or discomfort with thunder and lightning is anything but original, yet Nube wisely dodges the cliché trap by drawing attention to the complexity of these emotions, which can be destructive in one context and deliver heavenly alleviation and beauty in another.

The filmmakers employ a wide range of purple, pink and blue shades, creating imagery that’s easy on the eye. Brought to life through 2D-computer animation, the mama and girl clouds are adorable - truly loveable characters who are easy to sympathize with. Despite the fact they live in the sky, the viewer feels genuinely close to them.

Nube tells a touching story about loss and revival, with a heartbreakingly beautiful ending, similar to that of The Little Mermaid in Andersen’s original tale. It reminds us of the uplifting feeling of being alive by inviting us to follow the circle of life from above as well as below.