This review might contain spoilers. You may proceed if you can handle the truth... 220https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/niffiwan/12289273/21771/21771900.jpg In the withering wind it is Chikusai whom I resemble Matsuo Bash: Fuyu no Hi 1684. The three phrases with seventeen syllables of the above verse are the typical characteristics of a short poem originally from Japan called haiku. At the end of the 19th century the writer and critic Masaoka Shiki a significant figure in the development of modern haiku poetry popularized the term. Prior it was known as hokku the opening stanza of a Japanese orthodox linked verse poem renku. One of the masters of renku poetry was the 17thcentury Japanese poet Matsuo Bash. Contrary to other artists he was wellrespected famous and successful during his lifetime. Nowadays many scholars consider him one of the best haiku writers even though he saw his strength in linking renku verses. Winter Days Fuyu no Hi directed by Kihachirou Kawamoto is a film adaptation of Bash and his disciples selftitled 1684 renku one of seven poetry anthologies collecting their linked verse poems. In Kawamotos penultimate movie before he died in 2005 he created two shorts for the second and last stanza with his wellknown puppet animation style. For the remaining 34 couplets he asked different top animators around the world to contribute animated shorts with a minimum length of 30 seconds for their assigned verse. In total 35 sundry artists worked on this film anthology. Furthermore they crafted 40 minutes worth of animation whereby the twominute work by the Russian animator Yuri Norstein for the hokku is the longest one in the collection. For the sake of the reviews length and the readers engagement I will not write about any individual work. Instead I will cover my general impression. This decision may upset a few readers but I think the majority neither have the interest nor the motivation to read too much about such an obscure movie. Anyways a prevalent issue for film anthologies is the inconsistency in the quality since not every artist puts the same effort and time into their segment. However this project is one of the few exceptions where the viewer can see and feel each animators dedication. Each entry captures the essence of the corresponding renku verse excellently. The distinct art styles and various animation styles including but not limited to cutout traditional cel paintonglass pinscreen and CGI justify the existence of each short. Moreover the variety in the artistic and emotional expressions keeps the movie engaging and the next segment stays highly anticipated. Despite the pictures lack of spoken dialogue every work has a majestic classical music score and decent selected sound effects to compensate for it. To summarize the film anthology Winter Days is an unprecedented skilful and inspiring fusion of animation and poetry. Although not everybody likes artistic movies every anime fan from casual to devoted should watch the collection of shorts because of its short runtime. Unfortunately no streaming service offers the picture at the point of writing. If you get the chance to see it in the future do not hesitate.