Reflet is a very innovative animated short in which an art restoration expert finds out the danger of being sucked into the very art that she treasures. It might seem strange to mention such a thing but anyone that has ever done work with fiction of any type, be it visual or written, or even audio, might understand the danger of becoming too invested in the work you do. There are limits to the human mind and what it can accept, and what it should aspire to. There is a very good reason why those who deal with fiction in any form are not seen as the most balanced people in the world, and why at times they are in the greatest danger of being consumed by the very thing they love.
The story starts out simply enough with the woman entering her studio to begin work on restoring the painting she has resting on the easel. She has her tools, the means of bringing out the colors and vibrancy of the paining, and has already been working when she suddenly notices something odd. A hand, a human hand, where one had not appeared before, suddenly catches her attention. She thinks nothing of it for a moment, and does not see the brief shimmer behind her that might have alerted her to the fact that something has happened with the appearance of the hand.
When she begins to try and texture the tree that rests on the left hand side of the painting however she suddenly notes that she is chipping bark, not paint. Looking around she quickly realizes that she is now in the painting, and her eyes widen as her jaw drops. Before she can truly enjoy or understand the experience however she is confronted by a stranger in a top hat wielding a cane and dressed in fancy clothing. He asks what she is doing here, to which she can only stammer that she is an art restorer. He replies that he is the master and composer of this painting, and that in time, everything begins to fade.
She however shows the extent of her talent as he watches while she uses her tool to restore the world around them, brightening the formerly gloomy and slightly foreboding scenery as it begins to come to life again. He watches, approving as he then motions her towards another area of the painting, one that is somewhat off the beaten path that she has come upon. It is only when she comes to a secluded pond and dips her brush into the water that she sees a secret he has been keeping. There is a body in the water of another woman, her eyes looking emptily to the sky, her mouth open in a slack expression.
She was not the first to come upon this place, but even as she escapes by willing herself back to the real world, the painting still manages to reach out, taking control of her reality as she walks away. It is only when she looks in the mirror that she realizes what has happened, and by then it is too late. The master of the painting stabs her with one fatal thrust, sending her to drift in the pond, where she now resides in the painting as his hand can be seen just beyond the tree as her body floats, partially submerged, only a short distance away.
While others might get a different message, as a writer I understand this one quite well. That which you love so much can, and will consume if you if the proper care is not taken.
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