This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

a well known text. and more that. impressive realism. and touching poetry. a masterpiece, without doubt. but on who inspires so emotion than transforms each moment in a surprise. because it is more Hemingway than Santiago in this story about memories - dreams, confessions, terrible fight, disillusion, pain and broke of expectation. it is almost a Hasidic story. or a parable. out of lines of text, out of expectations of viewer. a kind of magic. not surprising for the public of Alexander Petrov. but out of words. because his art has him. a gift. a miracle. open of new perspective of reality. that is all. and it is enough. because The Old Man and the Sea by Alexander Petrov is more than a magnificent adaptation. it is one of the most impressive confessions as part of unique art.

a film who could surprise if the name of Alexandr Petrov is unknown. if not, it is only expression of subtle, touching and high art. a slice of pure beauty, homage to a great story and to its author. the images are almost magic. because behind each the passion, the hard work, the patience and the perseverance are signs of a kind of mystery. a film about a fight and a dream.out of words, far by definitions. it is a great animation and that fact is the secret for who not only admiration is the answer of spectator to it. something who seems be the childhood flavor and the grace of great dreams are ingredients of it. a film like a challenge. and like a refuge.

There's no denying that Aleksandr Petrov has his very own style of animation. And maybe this uniqueness was it what led him to Glory around the turn of the 21st century. His 20-minute long interpretation of the Hemingway story "The Old Man and the Sea" is a thing of beauty and you could probably take any random shot from the film, print an enlarged version of it and hang it into your living room. The film looks definitely much older than 1999 and meets the truest definition of motion picture as it's clearly an art in progress, like a work that consists of many beautiful paintings.I won't go into much detail about the story. It's an interesting one with many clever symbolisms, but it doesn't really hold a candle to the visual side. A must-see for animation lovers and a good time for everybody else as well. I wonder if Petrov will ever do a full feature film. Probably not looking too good as he only made one other film after "The Old Man and the Sea" and this was already roughly six years ago as well. Also, it's been almost 15 years since this was made and I believe this is the most recent version of the tale put on screen, so we may be in for a new one soon as well, hopefully as good as this one.

Based on Ernest Hemingway's 1952 novella of the same name, Aleksandr Petrov's 'The Old Man and the Sea' is a masterpiece of animated short films, taking a classic story and offering it a beauty that only Petrov could accomplish. Completed over two and a half years, the film was created using paint-on-glass animation, a technique which uses slow-drying pastel oil paints on glass sheets. Running for approximately 20 minutes, the film is comprised of more than 29,000 paintings, each frame a veritable work of art. 'The Old Man and the Sea' was the first animated short film to be released in IMAX format, and I can only imagine how breathtaking it would have been on such a large screen. Alas, I was forced to settle for my minuscule computer monitor, but perhaps I'll get my chance someday.The film traces the fortunes of an old man named Santiago, who has had a proud, adventure-filled life, and now whittles away his days fishing alone on the ocean, usually without catching anything. His young apprentice, Mandolin, despite being forbidden by his parents to go fishing with the old man, visits everyday, and the old man would often regale Mandolin with the exciting stories of his lifelong travels, of elephants and tigers and the ocean. On this particular fishing trip, Santiago comes up against a magnificent marlin, which takes the bait but refuses to give in. The old man feels that, despite he and the fish being brothers, it is his duty to kill the marlin, and only in doing so can he prove his worth.The wonderful animation of 'The Old Man and the Sea' is startlingly realistic, but the effect of the oil-on-glass also gifts it with a certain dream-like quality. The ocean is a vast heaving body of blue, a character in itself, and the marlin which lurks in its depths is an immense creature of great dignity. The moment when the struggling marlin tries unsuccessfully to escape by hurtling itself magnificently into the open air is truly affecting. The beauty of this film must be seen to be believed, and the 2000 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film was certainly not undeserved.