A Boy and His Atom: The World's Smallest Movie (2013) User Reviews

Likely to Hold the Record for a While

[boblipton · 6/10 · 13 July 2017]

Here's a stop-motion film made using individual carbon atoms on a copper substrate and an electron microscope that enlarges the image one hundred million (100,000,000) times.

It's purely a technical achievement, but for those of us with an interest in pure science, it's a great thing to look at Is this even a series of images as we understand it? I know it's images carried, not by photons as we think of things connected with vision, but by electrons.

In any case, simple as it is, it's fun to look at .... even if the artistic content is simply "Look at this!" think of it as spectacle, which is good enough for me.

Best short I've ever watched

[jonaambramotteeve · 10/10 · 9 March 2019]

In todays world of garbage across television, this is truely remarkable.

One of the most amazing movies

[utokyouniv · 10/10 · 14 June 2022]

Such a cute storyline and truly the most unique movie in the world. Smallest actors in the world and an amazing performance. Well done by the scientists!

Good movie, confusing story.

[grecotheking · 28 January 2019]

I went into this movie with high hopes that were met to an extent, but the story seemed to be put together a little too fast without enough peer review. Some of the decisions made by the main protagonist are hard to follow with his obscure motivations. Some of the better aspects of this film are the intense action sequences of the boy jumping on a trampoline and many others. The ending is what really got me talking about it with my co-workers and friends. The pure raw emotion as the ball has to leave his best friend that he had only met, left me heart broken. I cried for weeks, but soon came to grips with the fact that it was the only ending that could do this small film justice. Overall a 5/10, wouldn't watch again.

A complex masterpiece

[AbsimiliJon · 10/10 · 29 August 2022]

While I understand that the complexity of the highly nuanced plot may seem daunting, I would recommend focusing only on the surface level plots on your first viewing, much like Moby Dick can be read as a purely material story about whalers. Then, having possibly spent some time in contemplation, give it a rewatch with the focus on the more subtle aspects of the first few layers of subtext (going back to the previous simile, this would be like when you consider Moby Dick as a story of man vs. Nature, the futile search for control in a chaotic reality etc). Then, having some grasp of these, give it another rewatch while trying to focus on the dimensions of metaphysical philosophy that should now be apparent, that I won't spoil. In the end, all the pieces should fit together nicely and the many meanings' beautiful interconnectivity should be clear.

I was considering removing a star for the overly spectacular visuals, but I suppose that's de rigueur for even the most artistic film-maker these days, so I'll let it slide.