Amazing

If you haven't seen this ad yet, do it now. Yes, its for a shoe. But that doesn't matter because its really just a very short but very powerful movie.





I listened to hundreds of hours of Opera back when I was a butler and can identify quite a lot of it. But actual operas are really quite long and often boring. I'm sure they were the Lord of the Rings extended edition DVD's of their time. I'll take an aria here and an overture there but not an entire opera. That doesn't mean that this music isn't simply amazing, and when joined with these visuals the results are no less emotional than a full length movie. I actually wept when I saw this commercial. The story is told without words as they are unnecessary. Everything is there. You understand the emotions, motivations and pain of every face on the screen.

Nike has a history of making some kick ass commercials, such as the Demon Smiting Nike ad some years ago. Yes, it's as ad, but that doesn't mean it ain't art. If you doubt me, go check out the BMW short film series 'The Hire'. (sadly, only available on youtube instead of high quality video) They were actually better than several films that came out the same year. After one particularly aweful film I forced my friends to watch these films and they agreed that the films were better than what we had just seen (check out Powderkeg, its the best).

p.s. The song is Lacrimosa from Mozarts Requiem