LoveStatements

A declaration of love. Maria Weber attempts nothing less in her animated documentary LoveStatements, in which she has a wide variety of individuals philosophize about being in love. They talk about an “incredibly inspiring, positively psychotic state in which the heart puts itself above the head and asserts the right to be happy, regardless of whether there’s a reason.” But the interviewees also report an “irritation because your life’s off balance” and “narcissism where you really love either yourself or just your idea of the other person.”
Part of the reason for the extremely personal nature of these statements is that “people give much more uninhibited and authentic answers when talking to a microphone than on camera,” according to the director, Maria Weber. In terms of the visuals they’re represented by animated alter egos that do justice to the variety of personalities involved. Rather than protecting the protagonists’ identities through anonymity, as is traditional in animated documentaries dealing with serious themes, this reflects the playful way in which Weber and Berenike Falk’s Plasticine, sand and mixed-media animations deal with the statements.
A comparison with Nick Park’s Creature Comforts (1989), in which interviews of humans concerning how they live are visualized by means of animated zoo animals, seems obvious, and not just because of the claymation technique employed here. The statements, synchronized with the lip movements, the amusing visual commentary and not least the socially critical undertone demonstrate parallels. While Creature Comforts is solely gag-oriented, LoveStatements successfully combines humor and emotionally profound statements to explain being in love, to an extent at least. As one of the film’s protagonists says, “Fall in love everyday, but never forget that it’ll be over soon.” (Franziska Bruckner)