Minecraftand theOscarsaren’t exactly two words you’d expect to see written in the same sentence, which is what makes it all the more impressive that the mind behindHollywood’s latest video game adaptationpreviously worked on a short film that was up for an Academy Award. Released in 2023 and nominated during last year’s awards cycle,Ninety-Five Sensesisa masterclass in short-form storytellingthat combines engaging visuals with a devastating exploration of the human condition. Directed by husband-and-wife duoJerushaandJared Hess, the work is a far cry from the more playful tone ofthe latter’s work onA Minecraft Movie, butNinety-Five Sensesis nonetheless a testament to the enduring power of artand the bitter depths of living with regret.
What Is ‘Ninety-Five Senses’ About?
Longtime fans of Jared Hess as a director shouldn’t be surprised thatthe filmmaker behindNapoleon Dynamiteunderstands how to develop a project that resonates with viewers, but what is especially notable about the director’s work onNinety-Five Sensesis the darkness of his source material. Inan interview with Animation Magazine in late 2023, Jared and Jerusha confirmedNinety-Five Senseswas originally inspired by interviews with death-row inmatesin a Texas state penitentiary shortly before their scheduled executions. From this incredibly fraught, emotional premise,the longtime creative collaborators added another wrinkle mined from their own artistic curiosity—a death-row prisoner reflecting on his life through each of his five senses.
If there’s one thingNinety-Five Sensesdoes better than anything, it’s humanizing its imprisoned subject. Enriched by Jared Hess’s comedic touch and the endearing narration ofTim Blake Nelson,Ninety-Five Sensesbrings its personal story to life mere moments before that life is set to endand consequently draws more attention toan ongoing controversy within the American justice system. Likewise, the main narrative trajectory of the short film is deceptively simple, asNelson’s death-row inmate gradually recounts his distressing childhood, reckless crime, and long incarcerationone sense at a time.
‘Ninety-Five Senses’ Delivers Smooth Animation Alongside a Mature Meditation on Death
Outside its basic structure,Ninety-Five Sensesmakes solid use of its animated medium to both set the film’s bitter tone and keep viewers engaged. The contrast between the lush colors implemented duringNinety-Five Senses' most hopeful, idyllic moments and the grainy grays that define the narrator’s stay in prisonhighlights the depressing distance between the man’s wishful thinking and morbid circumstances. This contrast is also strengthened by the use of a playful, almost cartoonishart style throughout much of the short film, which only heightensNinety-Five Sensestragedy by emphasizingthe visual innocence of the narrator’s otherwise guilt-ridden memories. That said, while this art style is thematically relevant, its simplicity also makesNinety-Five Sensesmuch more accessible than the kind of short filmsyou’d expect a typical film buff to recommend.
Due in large part to the six talented animation teams that the Hess couple selected for their project,Ninety-Five Sensesblends both of these aesthetics together seamlessly, allowing the film’s brightest scenes to segue effortlessly into its darkest in order to illustrate the colorful highs and neutral lows of its narrator’s difficult life. The project’s most memorable sequence occurs towards its end, when the narrator daydreams about another version of his life in which he marries his defense attorney, Karen. Constantly balancing the warm tones of this fantasy against the growing shadows of the narrator’s bleak reality,this moment underscores the power ofNinety-Five Senses’animation and storytelling, reminding viewers why thisshort film earned its nomination in 2024with a beautiful glimpse into what might have been.
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The duo also tease DC’s ‘Lobo’ and the ‘Anaconda’ remake with Paul Rudd.
For those who are either drawn toNinety-Five Sensesfrom Jared Hess' more upbeat work or in seeing thefirst reactions toA Minecraft Movie, there’s no reason to be put off by the film’s despair. Despite its heavy subject matter,Ninety-Five Sensesculminates with a refreshingly blunt acknowledgment of the narrator’s impending execution, as well asan astonishingly optimistic exploration of what a human body feels after all awareness fades to black. This final outlook balances the short film’s bleak tone and complements its humor to deliver a complex commentary on mortality, effectively turningNinety-Five Sensesinto a film as existential as it is heartbreakingin just under fourteen minutes.
A Minecraft Movie
The malevolent Ender Dragon sets out on a path of destruction, prompting a young girl and her group of unlikely adventurers to set out to save the Overworld.
