There is a new name to include among the masters of animation: Alessandro Rak.
Following The Art of Happiness (2014) and Cinderella the Cat (2017), Rak raises the bar of ambition and imaginative power with his latest marvel, Yaya and Lennie – The Walking Liberty. In the near future, the earth is completely overgrown by an impenetrable jungle.
In the rubble of the old world, an Orwellian "Institution" tries to impose its liberticidal rules. But there are those who don't like it: Yaya – a girl with a rebellious spirit – and Lennie – the soul of a child in the body of a gentle giant – are on the run for freedom, among villains aiming to hunt them down and a group of unlikely revolutionaries always ready to help them.
A film that confirms Rak as a true screenwriter with an inimitable distinctive mark. In fact, themes and elements from previous works return, first and foremost the warm and very personal reinterpretation of the Neapolitan culture, along an emotional spectrum that captures all the nuances of the Neapolitan soul in a very subtle way, from the veins of melancholic resistance to the raging impulses of life's deepest joy.
The way the story is told is always surprising: Yaya and Lennie takes the form of an exciting post-apocalyptic adventure, between science-fiction scenarios and ecological sensibilities, with Rak's vision always going a little further, to embrace an audience of all ages. While adults will grasp the refinement of the quotes and the timely reflection on the concepts of freedom, law, and coexistence, children will indulge in the irresistible adventures of the most tender, fun (and moving) couple of friends of recent years. An animated triumph of color and music, but above all a hymn to limitless friendship, the purest form of freedom.
Eddie Bertozzi
