When a two hundred foot tall naked body washes ashore outside a small fishing village, crowds gather to witness the spectacle. A local scientist documents the leviathan's surrender to nature.
Adapted from the short story by J.G. Ballard
Tropes:
- Contemplate Our Navels: The scientist doesn't do a whole lot of actual science on the body, and simply observes its decay and muses on it as it relates the mortality of man.
- Creepy Souvenir: As the giant's body decays, the locals begin to chop off parts of his body as souvenirs. One of the giants bones ends up being used as decoration for a butcher shop, and his penis is put on display in a circus.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The treatment of the giant's body isn't much different of that of a beached, dead whale. Including reducing his fat tissue into oil.
- Fantastically Indifferent: The giant creates merely a short-lived, very local sensation that lasts a day. Then everyone moves on. Even the creepy souvenirs people keep end up being misattributed to belonging to some kind of sea creature.
- Generic Graffiti: As time passes, various people write graffiti on the decaying giants body.
- Male Frontal Nudity: The short is carefully shot to avoid showing the giant's penis up until the very last scene where it is shown in full on display in a formaldehyde jar as part of a circus freak show.
- Mutilation Conga: Besides regular decay that comes with death, the locals mutilate the dead giant by amputating his body parts for their own use.
- Riddle for the Ages: It is never revealed where the giant came from, or if there are more like him.
