andrewway52 You've got to hand it to Eric Leiser. It takes creative cajones the size of the Mayo Clinic to take on a subject as tricky as mental illness - or in this case, neurological dysfunction - and keep it from being a preachy, predicable disease of the week kind of weeper. The sparkling independent effort Imagination is anything but a limp Lifetime movie, avoiding all the clichés within this type of narrative while investing the film with a far amount of invention and insight. We've all heard tales of twins and their inexplicable psychic connection, how one sibling senses what the other is feeling and visa versa. Well, Imagination is one of the few films that wants to explore the inner workings of that connection. Using stop motion animation, various post-production techniques, and other storyline supposition, Leiser unlocks the inferred secrets of such biological sameness, and then inserts a somber meditation on fate, religion, love, loss, and family into the mix. This is not a straightforward look at said subjects. Instead, Leiser goes the tone poem route, revising his plot with pictures and proposals. He never fully gives away his motives, and this then becomes one of Imagination's undeniable strengths.

gavin6942 Brothers Eric and Jeffrey Leiser bring us the story of two twin girls who have Asperger's syndrome, where they are highly introverted and socially awkward, but have strong imaginations guided by "the white fawn", whatever that might be. Dr. Reineger has a fascination with these girls and seeks to find some answers.This film has one weak point and one strong point. The weak point is the acting. The two main characters, besides the girls, just do not impress me at all. Courtney Sanford (mother Janice Woodruff) forces her lines out, and Ed K. Gildersleeve (Dr. Reineger) doesn't do much better. The plot is very thin, and their navigation through it with words is like a canoe lost at sea... it's going somewhere, but certainly not from the actors' control.The strong point is the imagination and animation throughout the picture. Clay, food, paint and any other medium found is used in this movie, with more or less consistently beautiful results. Had they wanted to, the Leisers could have simply filmed these segments, added a few more and called it art. They were the highlight of the picture.This movie was picked up and rented on a whim, something that may be a little bit risky... but in this case, it opened my eyes to a film I would likely never had seen otherwise, presenting a style I never before would have imagined. Not a comedy, not a drama... just pure imagination on film.

filmintuition Former Spongebob Squarepants prop animator Eric Leiser explores his passion for his baccalaureate major field of experimental animation with this three year effort co-written with his brother, the composer and poet Jeffrey Leiser. In this haunting work which should be of particular interest to students specializing in the various techniques of film animation, Eric Leiser draws upon his vast experience and melds together puppetry, stop-motion sketches, camera trickery and claymation that dazzles the senses and makes the live action sequences pale in comparison. Employing a story that trips the mind fantastic, the brothers craft a tale which centers on two medically challenged twin sisters who are brought in for neuropsychological testing by Dr. Reineger (Ed K. Gildersleeve) when young Anna Woodruff (Nikki Haddad) is viewed as a likely candidate for Asperger's Syndrome. After their mother worries about the sisters' increasingly tight bond and their tendency to disappear into the far reaches of their imaginations, Anna's twin Sarah (Jessi Haddad) is brought in for the study after she is found to be legally blind—a condition that the optometrist predicts will worsen with time. The melancholy plot is elevated by bursts of clever animations that creep around every corner along with the sweeping score by Jeffrey Leiser that is so impressive one wonders if there will be an option on the upcoming DVD to isolate the superior music and visuals since they show off the Leisers' considerable talent in their chosen areas. However, the existential questioning that permeates the fascinatingly chilly first half of the film soon evolves into a spiritual crisis for the doctor that doesn't quite synch with the beginning which had called to mind the imagination run amok and lurking foreshadowing of sadness to follow evidenced in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures. Still, the proposal of the two twins unifying into one with a psychic connection is a creative idea sure to intrigue devotees of Philip K. Dick's phantom twin motif and surrealist film fans along with lovers of animation in every form. Imagination, which was an official selection at the Tel Aviv Film Festival, the Istanbul International Animation Festival in Turkey and played in select screenings in the states, is set to be released by Vanguard International Cinema on DVD on February 26 of next year.(Film Intuition Blog)

lastliberal This film came to me as an came to me as an early preview DVD courtesy of the filmmakers, the Leiser brothers. To say it is like nothing I have ever seen would be an understatement.Those looking for the latest Hollywood "comedy" and it's scatological "humor" or the latest action film will find none of that here. This surreal film truly qualifies as avant-garde and presents a visual experience that will stay with you long after it's 70 minutes have ended. The score, done by Jeffrey Leiser, who co-wrote the script, is also magnificent and enhances the visual experience.The only thing in the film that approaches acting is the neuro-psychologist, played by Ed K. Gildersleeve. Of course, the poor scientist is as baffled as the parents when he cannot provide scientific explanation to what is going on.That is not hard to understand, as many do not come into contact with those suffering from Asperger syndrome, which is a high functioning autism disorder. From all those I have and am dealing with who have autism, I have only one that may be Asperger's. But don't let that prevent you from enjoying the ride through this film, especially if you are the type that likes to see science flummoxed in the face of the metaphysical.