Love is Just A Death Away

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

Can love and death exist harmoniously? As part of the shorts programs for SXSW, Love is Just A Death Away is a stop-motion kind of meet-cute, mixed with morbidity and a touch of loneliness. Written and directed by Bára Anna Stejskalová, this Czech love story reminds us all that what we put out into the world will always come back—especially kindness.

Set in a junkyard scene, we see an injured bird struggling to get away from an angry barking dog. Cue a dog that looks like it stepped out of Pet Cemetery and manages to fight the other dog off so the bird could get away. We learn that the dog is merely a vessel for a parasite that controls it. The parasite is lonely and tries to find love and kindness in other animals. But between killing a rat by licking it and a roach that recruits his group to dismantle the dog while in slumber, the parasite never seems to catch a break. When a vehicle sweeps through the junkyard that is sure to destroy the parasite now sans body, the bird from the beginning of the story swoops in to save the worm. It turns out that the bird is also controlled by a parasite—and now the two can come together, evolve into moths and fly away from the junkyard together.

Stejskalová creates this sweet little tale of how love can be found anywhere if you look hard enough. In saving the bird, the kindness of the dog is not forgotten and the inhabitants of the animals finally get to meet face to face. While there are the elements of death involved, you don’t notice them as much as the emotionally touching storyline and use of stop-motion to soften death even further. Within the eleven minutes you find yourself rooting for the parasite to achieve that ultimate happiness in love and to learn that it was right there in front of them the whole time.

Everyone loves a good happy ending, even the bugs agree! You can learn more about Love is Just A Death Away” by clicking here: https://bionaut.cz/en/love-is-just-a-death-away/.