Pumpkins and Old Lace

This strange and silly stop-motion animated short from director Juliette Loubières follows a shaggy photographer who is trolling a retirement home looking for models for his work on a urinary incontinence protection ad. A brusque nurse guides the shutterbug around, as he meets a woman who screeches from beneath a quilted blanket (she is fearful that he's a monster), a group of elders who compete for his attention, and a grizzled, grousing, almost threatening-looking kook whom the photographer finds oddly familiar…. Surreal elements here include dancing paper dolls, snow (indoors), grasping thorns, and the aged bedecked in crowns, although whether or not this is all in the ad man's head remains to be seen (with the viewer given a winking clue at the close). A bit dark, but also imaginative, this is recommended. Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood)