Reviews for The Masquerade

[Atheistprophet]

Truly a pleasure

The scenario presented here was divine, wonderfully creative. I especially appreciate that the majority was portrayed in black and white, with the exception of the various painted expressions. The music fit well and held pace with the animation.

I also took notice of the teacher's movements as he roughly grabbed children and gave them their marks. The dripping and splotching held true to the mood, and as it was revealed that the teacher wore the most masks and was likely the worst off, it felt like the last pieces of the puzzle were clicking neatly into place.

I wondered if there could be a conclusion for this fascinating setting, but I think the answer to that is for the society to come full circle, ending with the boy donning his own forced smile. It's pessimistic or defeatist sentiment, but I think that's the story being told.

[RedKovu]

Nice, very strong messages.

I sincerely enjoyed the overall messages (there were many) as well as the music and overall mood. Although my opinion of flash animations without words is such that, if I want to watch a video with only music, I'll watch a music video. Luckily, this flash broke that barrier, and the incredible story overshadowed the fact that there were no words. Heck, I believe this goes way beyond anything remotely similar to it, and I would dare to even go as far as saying this is art. For example my favorite aspect of art is how the entirety of the animation itself is black and white but the emotions were expressed with color. Awesome job my friend.

[danman113]

One of the deepest flashes ever created

Let me start this off by saying that this is definitely one of most symbolic flash animations I have ever seen. I mean it just oozes symbolism, from the mask that everyone wears to the cracked, deformed true face of the teacher. The music is also equally excellent and completely complements the mood of the flash. Although multiple messages and themes emerge, the one that really stood out to me was that the people who judge are really depressed, broken individuals on the inside. Although most of the messages and themes are darker in nature (such as the persecution of those who refuse to conform) the flash ends with a lighter, more optimistic message: No matter how different you are, you are never alone.

[retlaw782]

u just blew my mind

thank u thank u so much for this story it really reminds me that there may'nt b a smile behind a mask...great story i especially liked it because i feel the same way stuck in a mask unable to do anything about it....really great animation

[jsccm]

wow

the story of opression is told time and time again but this representation of it really shows it to be the nightmare it is, amazing work