When I was little, I used to play with plastic dolls to pass the time or read some story to entertain my eyes. In The Bones, a short film executive produced by Ari Aster, a person plays around with old human bones and uses necromancy for a bigger purpose– and no, she’s not the new iteration of Sabrina Spellman.

The Bones, or better known in Spanish as Los Huesos, is a short written and directed by Joaquin Cociña and Cristobal Leon, the same team that brought 2018’s La Casa Lobo (The Wolf House), a feature stop-motion film with historical context. Long story short, it tells the story of how a girl named Constanza digs the remains of two Secretaries of State to perform a symbolical “marriage-breaking” ceremony to liberate her country from its feudal heritage— is an artistic expression that exudes political overtones at a crucial time in Chile’s history.

The Bones has an important message that screams freedom and hope. It’s expressed through black-and-white stop-motion, very much in the style of silent films, with a soundtrack that slowly begins to get under your skin as it moves from a soft melody to its darkest notes— in other words , its means of presentation are picturesque and gloomy. Although from the beginning the viewer is warned of what the main character has done, it does not take away the opportunity that at times he comes to be seen as something tender and sweet, until he begins to cover the bones with skin, hair and old clothes.

It is interesting how they justify the fact of disguising the film as an old format. Before the start of the short, it is mentioned that the images seen have been restored after being found during the excavation of the land for a museum. There is no doubt that every detail has been thought of from start to finish to give even more life to a project that only lasts 14 minutes.

The Bones is a strange stop-motion short film with strange themes and strange animation, but it does not cease to cause fascination for what characterizes it. It’s a fine piece invoking art through an analogy that suits it best when you read into the historical background.

10 OUT OF 10 BONES