“Perpetual Motion” by Béla Vajda

Moto Perpetuo (Perpetual Motion) by Béla Vajda (1935-2011) is a Hungarian short that won the Palme d’Or at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. It offers a terrific visual concept, sprightly animation, and funny gags throughout. The Hungarian website Daazo writes that the film “shows an absurd picture of our neverending changing culture and history. With its critical view of life, this film was probably a perfect mirror of a Central-European, Soviet country in 1982.” It also offers a terrifically inappropriate John Lennon gag, just a few months after he was murdered.