Every Thursday, Chris Robinson takes a look at films from animation’s past. Today: John Canemaker's powerful memoir, The Moon and The Son (2005)
'The Moon and the Son' by John Canemaker
John Canemaker calls The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation (2004), “the film I was always meant to make.” An extraordinary exploration of Canemaker’s difficult relationship with his father, Moon and The Son is a perfect example of how personal, powerful and mature an art form animation can be when it’s given the opportunity.
The film is rich with layers of meaning and stories. Moon and The Son is a memoir, fantasy, biography and also a document of the immigration experience of Italians. “I figured I had made many films about other people’s lives and concerns, and I had thought about the subject matter for many years; indeed, it affected my life profoundly. I made the film to resolve long-standing emotional issues I still have with my late father. A catharsis in animation. I wanted to find answers to our difficult relationship, to understand the reasons he was always a feared figure in my childhood, why he was always angry and defensive, verbally and physically abusive, and often in trouble with the law.”
Canemaker interviewed his father just before his death in 1995 and was surprised by what he learned. “I discovered he was a man of many contradictions – American-born but raised in poverty in Calabria, Italy; a pious Catholic with long ties to organized crime; a twice-decorated World War II hero subsequently convicted of arson; an eager, aggressive go-getter unable to achieve his dreams; a devoted husband and father whose rage and self-inflicted misfortune devastated his family.”
Thanks to a residency grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, work on The Moon and the Son began in Italy in August 1999. “My studio overlooked Lake Como and each day I made many sketches and conferred with other residents (poets, musicians, writers, artists, academics) about my project (and theirs). It was a great experience – have an entire month to work only on the story for my film, to be surrounded by other artists who encouraged your work, and to be fed and treated so well in such a beautiful setting.”
Once the script and storyboard were complete, Canemaker and producer Peggy Stern recorded actor Eli Wallach as the father. Canemaker voiced the son. “I remember tearing up at the sound of Eli’s voice with an Italian accent behind the microphone. He sounded just like my father. My reading (playing myself) stayed on the track for a long time, but Peg and I finally agreed I was too close to the real events and wasn’t able or willing to hit the necessary emotional peaks.”
With the help of Wallach, Canemaker and Stern managed to sway John Turturro to come on board and play the son. “Turturro was interested but very busy. Finally, our patience and persistence paid off and we got him into a recording studio and he did an excellent job.
The final 28-minute short was an instant success. The Moon and The Son played in festivals around the world. In March 2006, the film won the Academy Award for Best Animation Short. A few months later, Canemaker won an Emmy for “outstanding graphic and artistic design.”
A well-known figure in the world of independent animation, writer, author & curator Chris Robinson is the Artistic Director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
