Matriculated

A group of people have built a hidden base in a forest. What they do is unusual: instead of fighting the machines they try to persuade them. They capture a sentinel and connect the machine to a simulation. The aim is to give the machine the experience of making a choice; if it comes over to the human side of its own will, the method has worked. The experiment begins, and what the machine sees inside goes somewhere other than the people expected. Peter Chung writes and directs. The short is part of the Animatrix collection and is set in the Matrix world. Chung was already known for his own animated series and this piece carries his manner directly: long limbs, exaggerated movement and fluid animation. Among the nine pieces in the collection this is the most extreme in form; the simulation sections are abstract and consist almost entirely of colour and shape. The question the narrative builds is whether machines can make a free choice; the piece does not answer it. The action scenes are short and most of the narrative takes place inside the simulation. It is considered the least understood part of the collection and divided viewers. Who it is for: viewers who like experimental animation and the Matrix world. Who it is not for: the narrative is closed, the visual manner unusual, and the context is missing because it is short.