But then the youngster begins to fight back, looking for a way outside the box but coming against its most forces yet. The narrative takes the phrase "outside the box" and spins it into a deeply , hypnotic narrative that resembles a fairy tale. Not a sanitized children's version of a fairy tale, however: the film instead resembles the original European fairy stories, which were dark, complex and in their emotional violence. The images are , with their of distorted flesh and murky colors. But the of the creatures and attention to detail -- created in open-source 3-D software Blender -- are from a technical and emotional level, and draw in viewers with a powerful of gesture, sound and . Despite the world portrayed in the film, there are splashes of zany humor and joy, as the younger creature expresses its unbridled childlike self.

The musical score and sound design by Mateja Staric go a long way to create contrast between and youthful , as well as keeping the narrative at a engaging pace. Despite its strange , the and high spirits of the newly emergent creature are so much like the energy of children, and viewers cannot help but relate. Yet "The Box" becomes genuinely sad and painful as the youngster is brought down and cut down to size, and confronts the of the box itself that keep its docile and in the dark. Watching that struggle becomes a powerful metaphor for the and that we all face, whether it's the box that society puts us inside or the ones we put ourselves in. To watch the creature struggle against a dark, narrow world is hard, and yet, as the creature discovers, as long as you can feel a spark of an essential self, there is always a way towards the light. ABOUT is the home of the world's best short films.

We showcase -acclaimed from the Oscars, Sundance, Cannes and more! Subscribe now: The box is full of miserable creatures -- but one of them doesn't belong there. | The 🎬 Got a film? Submit it to us for at . .