Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s dreamlike hand-drawn animated film DEATH DOES NOT EXIST makes fascinating use of colors and is visually captivating.
It starts with a brutal, bloody armed attack scene that startles without having any red in it. We later get a different version of the same scene, this time with red blood, when the main character Hélène gets a chance to redeem herself.
Dufour-Laperrière is mostly interested in Hélène’s moral dilemmas when she is on the run in a supernatural forest, which likely represents the inside of her mind. The film’s message of love, loyalty, and equality may be a bit muddled, but this beautiful, mind-bending adult animation should please many fans of the genre.
