The Evening Sunset (El Vespre)

Perhaps it is just as well that I didn’t come across this yesterday, if I was to believe in all the media hullabaloo about Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year – and so on. Really, how is knowing that (if it is true, being dependent as it is on some fairly dubious algorithms) supposed to help anyone, especially if one is depressed?

The Evening Sunset (El Vespre) is a short stop-motion film created by Joan Martín Giménez. It tells the story of an old man who truly is tired of life and decides to do something about it in a home-made Dignitas kind of way. Instead of heading for Switzerland he decides to take things in to his own hands but, as you shall see, life has not quite finished with him yet. Giménez handles a very sensitive subject here with pathos, charm and just about the right amount of nudity.