Flatland (film)
Encyclopedia
Flatland is a 2007 computer animated film based on the 1884 novella, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
by Edwin A. Abbott. The film was directed and animated by Ladd Ehlinger Jr. in Lightwave 3D. The screenplay was written by author Tom Whalen. The music was composed by Mark Slater
.
The Senate session has been called to discuss the increasing hostilities between the Chromatist movement and the government. Senator Chromatistes is the irregular dodecagon who leads this rebellious movement that wants to legalize the right of Flatlanders to color their sides as they see fit. Traditionally a taboo practice, the laws were previously relaxed somewhat which emboldened the Chromatists to demand legalization against the will of the majority. The Great Southern Republic distinguishes itself from its enemy, the Northern Kingdom, by its stances on Chromatism and Irregulars along with a democratic government. Relaxing the laws has already been perceived as weakness by the Northern Kingdom who are massing on the borders.
Unable to heed his brother’s advice, A Square meets with his new client, the first female charged as a Chromatist and on his way home finds himself embroiled in the melee issuing forth from the Senate. President Circle’s soldiers have assassinated Senator Chromatistes along with his supporters thus sparking a riot that has spilled into the streets of the city. A Square barely makes it home safely where he then barricades his family against the chaos for the night.
Once asleep, though, A Square has an unusual dream in which he visits a one-dimensional world, Lineland, and attempts to convince the realm's ignorant king of a second dimension. A Square finds it essentially impossible to make the King of Lineland see outside of his eternally straight line. After waking uneasily, A Square learns that the riots which killed hundreds originated in the Senate meeting that B Square was attending. A visit to B Square’s home confirms that he is missing in action and sends A Square through the city now under martial law in a fruitless attempt to find B Square. Passing through the marketplace, A Square comes upon an unusual merchant selling a fascinating item called a glow point which he purchases for A Hexagon who has been sulking since being disciplined for coloring one of his sides purple.
The family prepares for another anxious night in Flatland only to be completely terrified by the sudden appearance in their home of A Sphere, CEO of Messiah, Inc. A Sphere declares that A Square is his apostle of the Three Dimensions and privately begins to explain things to him. A Square resolutely refuses to entertain the concept of three dimensions
to the point of becoming violent with A Sphere. In desperation, A Sphere decides the only way to convince A Square that there are three dimensions is to show him.
Suddenly and quite painfully, A Square finds himself plucked out of his dimension and into Spaceland. After his initial shock, the gospel of 3 dimensions becomes clear to A Square along with the possibility of locating his brother from his newfound point of view. Having business himself at the Great Hall, A Sphere brings A Square to look for his brother there. On their arrival, A Sphere delivers the standard millennial speech espousing three dimensions to President Circle and the Priests who are anticipating this very event. After rejecting A Sphere’s message and attempting to kill him, the Flatland leaders execute all who have witnessed the event except B Square who is only imprisoned for life on pain of silence while his brother watches from high above Flatland.
Realizing that time in Spaceland is short, at least for A Square, A Sphere brings him to Messiah, Inc. to finish his education on the gospel of Three Dimensions. Enthralled by the complex world of Spaceland, A Square posits further about 4 dimensions and so forth to A Sphere who dismisses it as nonsense. Meanwhile, A Square’s intrusion into Spaceland has become a national emergency which prompts the Spaceland Senate to call to him to appear for a hearing in the Senate Chambers. The Senators demand an explanation from A Sphere for this serious breach of protocol in bringing a Flatlander into their midst. They insist that it will be viewed as an act of war by their enemies, the X-Axis, who will take the opportunity to launch a full scale war.
During the discussion, A Square also learns that the X-Axis considers the Great Senate as weak because they have allowed the continued existence of his own world, Flatland, which they view as an abomination. As the debate in the Senate rages, an ailing A Square tries to explain his theory of multiple dimensions to an unsympathetic crowd. Air-raid sirens wail as A Square collapses from the overwhelming effects of gravity on his two-dimensional body and chaos ensues.
A Sphere manages to send his dying apostle back on his way to Flatland via a mailing tube before bombs destroy Messiah, Inc. but A Square’s journey back is fraught with obstacles and he ends up plunging in freefall toward Flatland and through its surface into unknown regions below where he experiences a revelation on dimensionality and infinity.
The next thing he knows, A Square finds himself in his own bed on the eve of the year 3000 and his family informs him that the government has issued a proclamation ordering the arrest of anyone proclaiming the gospel of three dimensions. Undeterred, A Square hurries to see his brother in Flatland jail to discuss their new shared knowledge of the third dimension. B Square, afraid of execution, denies the experience and in a panic assaults his brother who falls temporarily into an unconscious state where he encounters A HyperSphere along with the Monarch of Pointland who curiously resembles a “glow point.” As the Monarch drones on in his monologue of “being the all in all, the one in the one,” A HyperSphere informs his former apostle that time is short and A Square must proclaim the gospel of the three dimensions to his fellow Flatlanders although they, like the Monarch, will probably remain trapped within their own perspectives.
Returning to himself, A Square manages to escape Flatland prison and the guards that B Square has set upon his brother. Arriving at his home ahead of his pursuers, A Square informs his wife that they are going to defect to the Northern Kingdom where he might be able to spread the gospel of three dimensions to a more open minded populace. The soldiers arrive and A Square makes his escape with the help of Frau A Square’s “war cry” that temporarily stuns them. Before he can reach the border, A Square is cornered by the soldiers whose attempt to dismantle and segment him is thwarted by the Northern Kingdom army’s attack. In the fracas, things suddenly begin to disappear as though sucked down through the fabric of Flatland until only A Square remains. He too begins to disappear until there is only his eye, then a point of light, a glowing point of light, which welcomes him into another dimension.
, Ehlinger animated and edited the feature film by himself over the course of a year and a half, starting in 2006 and ending in 2007.
Film Threat
reviewer Phil Hall referred to the film's "bold originality and vibrant intelligence", stating, "Sequences throb with raw power, provoking visceral emotional responses". Hall flatly called it "a work of genius," and gave it five stars (of five).
Dennis Schwartz (Ozus' World) gave Flatland an "A", referring to it as "smart, without being cheeky", in taking the likely unfilmable source material, and creating a "spirited avant-garde" film. He summarized:
Scott Green at Ain't it Cool News
called it "captivating", "an enjoyable mental amusement park ride", and "something amazingly different and intriguing to watch." But he noted, "the complexity of the world being explored does not coherently coalesce", and that the film attacks divisive topics "with an undisciplined flurry of jabs." Green was intrigued by the film's "glib omniscient" title cards, writing that their presence "almost makes for a character in and of itself."
Flatland
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is an 1884 satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott. Writing pseudonymously as "A Square", Abbott used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to offer pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture...
by Edwin A. Abbott. The film was directed and animated by Ladd Ehlinger Jr. in Lightwave 3D. The screenplay was written by author Tom Whalen. The music was composed by Mark Slater
Mark Slater
Mark Andrew Slater is a British film composer, conductor, cellist and pianist.-Early years:Slater was born in Reigate, England into a musical family. His father Christopher Slater, a professional conductor and organist, was a professor at Royal College of Music in London. Slater started playing...
.
Plot
In a two-dimensional world called Flatland populated by living squares, triangles, lines, circles and other two-dimensional shapes, it is three days until the celebration of the year 3000. A Square, Attorney at law, struggles to instruct his son, A Hexagon, in the art of sight recognition. The lesson is interrupted by his brother B Square’s arrival. As clerk to President Circle, B Square wants to warn his big brother to stay home that afternoon while there is a meeting at the Senate of the Great Southern Republic of Flatland.The Senate session has been called to discuss the increasing hostilities between the Chromatist movement and the government. Senator Chromatistes is the irregular dodecagon who leads this rebellious movement that wants to legalize the right of Flatlanders to color their sides as they see fit. Traditionally a taboo practice, the laws were previously relaxed somewhat which emboldened the Chromatists to demand legalization against the will of the majority. The Great Southern Republic distinguishes itself from its enemy, the Northern Kingdom, by its stances on Chromatism and Irregulars along with a democratic government. Relaxing the laws has already been perceived as weakness by the Northern Kingdom who are massing on the borders.
Unable to heed his brother’s advice, A Square meets with his new client, the first female charged as a Chromatist and on his way home finds himself embroiled in the melee issuing forth from the Senate. President Circle’s soldiers have assassinated Senator Chromatistes along with his supporters thus sparking a riot that has spilled into the streets of the city. A Square barely makes it home safely where he then barricades his family against the chaos for the night.
Once asleep, though, A Square has an unusual dream in which he visits a one-dimensional world, Lineland, and attempts to convince the realm's ignorant king of a second dimension. A Square finds it essentially impossible to make the King of Lineland see outside of his eternally straight line. After waking uneasily, A Square learns that the riots which killed hundreds originated in the Senate meeting that B Square was attending. A visit to B Square’s home confirms that he is missing in action and sends A Square through the city now under martial law in a fruitless attempt to find B Square. Passing through the marketplace, A Square comes upon an unusual merchant selling a fascinating item called a glow point which he purchases for A Hexagon who has been sulking since being disciplined for coloring one of his sides purple.
The family prepares for another anxious night in Flatland only to be completely terrified by the sudden appearance in their home of A Sphere, CEO of Messiah, Inc. A Sphere declares that A Square is his apostle of the Three Dimensions and privately begins to explain things to him. A Square resolutely refuses to entertain the concept of three dimensions
Dimensions
Dimensions is a French project that makes educational movies about mathematics, focusing on spatial geometry. It uses POV-Ray to render some of the animations, and the films are release under a Creative Commons licence....
to the point of becoming violent with A Sphere. In desperation, A Sphere decides the only way to convince A Square that there are three dimensions is to show him.
Suddenly and quite painfully, A Square finds himself plucked out of his dimension and into Spaceland. After his initial shock, the gospel of 3 dimensions becomes clear to A Square along with the possibility of locating his brother from his newfound point of view. Having business himself at the Great Hall, A Sphere brings A Square to look for his brother there. On their arrival, A Sphere delivers the standard millennial speech espousing three dimensions to President Circle and the Priests who are anticipating this very event. After rejecting A Sphere’s message and attempting to kill him, the Flatland leaders execute all who have witnessed the event except B Square who is only imprisoned for life on pain of silence while his brother watches from high above Flatland.
Realizing that time in Spaceland is short, at least for A Square, A Sphere brings him to Messiah, Inc. to finish his education on the gospel of Three Dimensions. Enthralled by the complex world of Spaceland, A Square posits further about 4 dimensions and so forth to A Sphere who dismisses it as nonsense. Meanwhile, A Square’s intrusion into Spaceland has become a national emergency which prompts the Spaceland Senate to call to him to appear for a hearing in the Senate Chambers. The Senators demand an explanation from A Sphere for this serious breach of protocol in bringing a Flatlander into their midst. They insist that it will be viewed as an act of war by their enemies, the X-Axis, who will take the opportunity to launch a full scale war.
During the discussion, A Square also learns that the X-Axis considers the Great Senate as weak because they have allowed the continued existence of his own world, Flatland, which they view as an abomination. As the debate in the Senate rages, an ailing A Square tries to explain his theory of multiple dimensions to an unsympathetic crowd. Air-raid sirens wail as A Square collapses from the overwhelming effects of gravity on his two-dimensional body and chaos ensues.
A Sphere manages to send his dying apostle back on his way to Flatland via a mailing tube before bombs destroy Messiah, Inc. but A Square’s journey back is fraught with obstacles and he ends up plunging in freefall toward Flatland and through its surface into unknown regions below where he experiences a revelation on dimensionality and infinity.
The next thing he knows, A Square finds himself in his own bed on the eve of the year 3000 and his family informs him that the government has issued a proclamation ordering the arrest of anyone proclaiming the gospel of three dimensions. Undeterred, A Square hurries to see his brother in Flatland jail to discuss their new shared knowledge of the third dimension. B Square, afraid of execution, denies the experience and in a panic assaults his brother who falls temporarily into an unconscious state where he encounters A HyperSphere along with the Monarch of Pointland who curiously resembles a “glow point.” As the Monarch drones on in his monologue of “being the all in all, the one in the one,” A HyperSphere informs his former apostle that time is short and A Square must proclaim the gospel of the three dimensions to his fellow Flatlanders although they, like the Monarch, will probably remain trapped within their own perspectives.
Returning to himself, A Square manages to escape Flatland prison and the guards that B Square has set upon his brother. Arriving at his home ahead of his pursuers, A Square informs his wife that they are going to defect to the Northern Kingdom where he might be able to spread the gospel of three dimensions to a more open minded populace. The soldiers arrive and A Square makes his escape with the help of Frau A Square’s “war cry” that temporarily stuns them. Before he can reach the border, A Square is cornered by the soldiers whose attempt to dismantle and segment him is thwarted by the Northern Kingdom army’s attack. In the fracas, things suddenly begin to disappear as though sucked down through the fabric of Flatland until only A Square remains. He too begins to disappear until there is only his eye, then a point of light, a glowing point of light, which welcomes him into another dimension.
Animation
Using off-the-shelf 3D animation software such as Lightwave 3D and Adobe After EffectsAdobe After Effects
Adobe After Effects is a digital motion graphics and compositing software published by Adobe Systems, used in the post-production process of filmmaking and television production. Its main uses are the origination of 2D and 2.5D animation, visual effects compositing and finishing...
, Ehlinger animated and edited the feature film by himself over the course of a year and a half, starting in 2006 and ending in 2007.
Cast
| Actor | Character | Dimensional shape | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simon G. Hammond | A Sphere | a sphere Sphere A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point... |
the CEO of Messiah, Inc. |
| Greg Trent | President Circle | a circle Circle A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane that are a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any of the points and the centre is called the radius.... |
the president of the Southern Republic |
| Chris Carter Chris Carter (actor) -Career:He produces and stars on Chris & John to the Rescue!, Chris & John's Road Trip! and Chris & John's Halloween Superstar. He writes dramatic television and films.-External links:*... |
King Of Lineland | a line Line (geometry) The notion of line or straight line was introduced by the ancient mathematicians to represent straight objects with negligible width and depth. Lines are an idealization of such objects... |
the longest line in Lineland six inches of Space |
| Linda Meigs | Mathilde & Millicent | pyramids Pyramid (geometry) In geometry, a pyramid is a polyhedron formed by connecting a polygonal base and a point, called the apex. Each base edge and apex form a triangle. It is a conic solid with polygonal base.... |
the office assistants of A Sphere |
| Jon Shoemaker | Soldier Y | a triangle Triangle A triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are line segments. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted .... |
a lethal triangle in the great Southern Republic Army |
| Ashley Blackwell | A Line | a line Line (geometry) The notion of line or straight line was introduced by the ancient mathematicians to represent straight objects with negligible width and depth. Lines are an idealization of such objects... |
an accused Chromatism line |
| Michael Karle | Pentagon Doctor | a pentagon Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon is any five-sided polygon. A pentagon may be simple or self-intersecting. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagram is an example of a self-intersecting pentagon.- Regular pentagons :In a regular pentagon, all sides are equal in length and... |
the chief doctor at Hospital of Reconfiguration |
| Dr. Jeff Sanders Jeff Sanders Jeffery Raynard Sanders is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 1st round of the 1989 NBA Draft. Sanders played for the Bulls, Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks in 4 NBA seasons. In his NBA career, he appeared in 55 games and scored a... |
Cube Carlton | a cube Cube In geometry, a cube is a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. The cube can also be called a regular hexahedron and is one of the five Platonic solids. It is a special kind of square prism, of rectangular parallelepiped and... |
Cube Carlton. Receiving. |
| Oscar Gutierrez Oscar Gutierrez Óscar Gutiérrez is a Mexican American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Rey Mysterio. He is signed to WWE competing on its Raw brand. Gutiérrez was trained by his uncle Rey Misterio, Sr... |
Old Trapezoid | a trapezoid Trapezoid In Euclidean geometry, a convex quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides is referred to as a trapezoid in American English and as a trapezium in English outside North America. A trapezoid with vertices ABCD is denoted... |
a crazy old trapezoid |
| Ladd Ehlinger Jr. Ladd Ehlinger Jr. Ladd Ehlinger Jr. is an American filmmaker. He is the director and animator of the 2007 film Flatland as well as a creator of numerous political videos promoting a libertarian conservative viewpoint, some of which have become highly controversial and reached viral levels of publicity. On his... |
A Square | a square Town square A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,... |
attorney at law the main character |
| Karen Ehlinger | Frau A Square | a line Line (geometry) The notion of line or straight line was introduced by the ancient mathematicians to represent straight objects with negligible width and depth. Lines are an idealization of such objects... |
A Square’s loving wife |
| Megan Ehlinger | A Hexagon | a hexagon | A Square’s youngest son |
| Robert Ehlinger | B Square | a square Town square A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,... |
President Circle’s personal assistant |
| Catherine Ehlinger | Frau B Square | a line Line (geometry) The notion of line or straight line was introduced by the ancient mathematicians to represent straight objects with negligible width and depth. Lines are an idealization of such objects... |
B Square’s loving wife |
Other voices
Reception
In nearly all reviews the film received praise, with minor criticism. At SciFi.com, Paul Di Filippo gave the film a rating of "A", stating that it "entertains, enlightens and educates," and that "Ehlinger manages to retain the Victorian satire on pomposity and cultural blindness while updating it to modern conditions. And ... [its] conceptual breakthrough is brilliantly handled." Di Filippo single criticism was that the superimposed text exposition got "a bit heavy-handed."Film Threat
Film Threat
Film Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
reviewer Phil Hall referred to the film's "bold originality and vibrant intelligence", stating, "Sequences throb with raw power, provoking visceral emotional responses". Hall flatly called it "a work of genius," and gave it five stars (of five).
Dennis Schwartz (Ozus' World) gave Flatland an "A", referring to it as "smart, without being cheeky", in taking the likely unfilmable source material, and creating a "spirited avant-garde" film. He summarized:
Scott Green at Ain't it Cool News
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...
called it "captivating", "an enjoyable mental amusement park ride", and "something amazingly different and intriguing to watch." But he noted, "the complexity of the world being explored does not coherently coalesce", and that the film attacks divisive topics "with an undisciplined flurry of jabs." Green was intrigued by the film's "glib omniscient" title cards, writing that their presence "almost makes for a character in and of itself."
External links
- Flatland at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...