The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer

source: The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer

The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer

The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer, is a delight if your looking for a strange puppet animation short film of the highest water. You've seen nothing like it, unless you've seen the perfect work of The Brothers Quay. For fans, like myself of strange animation, and Fans, like myself of The Rocky Horror Picture Show this is that perfect short film to wet your appetite.

This is the Quay Brothers' tribute to Jan Svankmajer, a Czech animation filmmaker who is considered to be among the finest in history in the genre. I cannot really agree with that. I am not too b'much of a Svankmajer fan, but even less of the Quay Brothers probably. Then again, if you like darker animation, you will probably enjoy this 14-minute short film a lot more than I did. It was made over 30 years ago and consists of several very short films that, taken together, make up this quarter of an hour. My overall verdict is a negative one though because I usually prefer my animation bright and fluffy, but also the stories in here didn't do too much for me. Thumbs down.

This is an excellent introduction to the work of the Quay Brothers and stop-motion animation. It is enjoyable for fans of Svankmajer, but also for fans of the painter Arcimboldo, whose paintings and characters are featured heavily in this short; most notably the Librarian, which is brought to 3D life as the lead puppet, and also characters from The Seasons, The Elements, and others: Vertumnus, Summer, Fire, and so forth. In fact, a subtitle in the film is Portrait of Svankmajer a la Arcimboldo. Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527 - 1593) was an Italian painter known for creating portraits composed of fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish, and books, all arranged in a fashion that constitutes a portrait of a character which is represented by all those diverse elements.

This beautiful short made by the Brothers Quay (directors of the great animated short "Street of Cocodriles") It's a captivating tale about a master and his disciple. This may sound as something very simple, but the Brothers Quay always manage to create a unique, fascinating world, with strange but very interesting characters, and strange and surreal situations as well. The animation looks beautiful and stylish, just like the other films directed by the Brothers Quay, and this little homage to Jan Svankmajer definitely worth a look, specially if you are fan of filmmakers as Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. I liked this short a lot. I recommend it to anyone.

"The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer" is a film that is a tribute to the strange work of this Czech filmmaker. Svankmajer is known for making many stop-motion pictures which feature a strange and creepy sense of humor. I personally love Svankmajer's work but his films are certainly NOT for everyone. They are mega-strange, surreal and some are filled with father repellent images. In this film, you see what essentially looks much like a Svankmajer short...with creepy dolls (with their wigs missing and giant cavities where brains would be) and a main character with a book for a head! It's all very confusing and strange...and much like a Svankmajer film. My only complaint is that it's NOT a Svankmajer film and I really think this Czech master filmmaker would have done this better. An interesting homage and Svankmajer-like film...but not up to his usual quality or sense of humor.

The Quay brothers style is at it's best here, with beautiful, surreal puppets telling the story of Czech animator Jan Svankmajer's life. The expressionist, stop-motion puppet work is perfectly suited to tell the story of Svankmajer's own surreal film-making. Split into several sections, the puppets (one expressing Svankmajer himself) act out the scenes, with maze-like, unidentifiable sets, dancing pins and a mesmerising soundtrack. All these elements combine into a treat for the eyes, and a severe hammering to the brain. The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer is a marvellous short, particularly of interest to fans of Svankmajer himself.