A Detective Story

A Detective Story is an animated short film set in the universe of The Matrix. It is part of The Animatrix series. Traditional animation is blended with grainy photographic backgrounds to produce a very distinctive style.

Related Topics:
Short film - The Matrix - The Animatrix

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A film noir style film in black and white, set in an unnamed city insome manner of alternate history, it follows the story of a down-on-his-luck private detective who receives an anonymous phone call to search for a hacker that goes by the alias "Trinity". The aesthetic of the piece is highly Art Deco and thirties-retro, with the computers blended with typewriters to give it an old-fashioned yet modern feel (compare Terry Gilliam's Brazil), and the phones using a rotary-dial system. The private detective Ash traces down the hacker Trinity (they communicate through allusions to Lewis Carroll's Alice books) only to be followed every step of the way by agents of the Matrix. While Trinity escapes, she has to shoot Ash, who might turn into an agent. Ash apparently dies, as he cannot overcome the Agents, especially not wounded. Nor would the agents let him live, having (possibly) learned about the Matrix. The story's resolution is left open-ended, similar to the ending of director Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop.

Related Topics:
Film noir - Black and white - Detective - Hacker - Trinity - Art Deco - Terry Gilliam - Brazil - Alice books - Shinichiro Watanabe - Cowboy Bebop

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