Jan Švankmajer: The Animator of Prague (1990)
This half-hour BBC documentary offers a revealing look at Svankmajer at work on "Death of Stalinism in Bohemia," and uses excerpts from his earlier films to trace the development of his unique sensibility.
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Lack of good storyline.
A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
This BBC production looking at the life and work of Jan Svankmajer is included on the disc "Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer: Vol. 2" and is worth your time--particularly because Svankmajer's films are so incredibly enigmatic. After seeing some of his films, the viewer naturally wants to know more about this unusual guy!! Unfortunately, while it does answer some questions, the film is pretty short. Plus, it only addresses the man's work up to about 1990. Now this is NOT to say you shouldn't see it--just understand that it's not complete. In the film you learn about the political aspects of his shorts, how surrealism is behind his projects and how a painter named Archimbaldo inspired his work--even though he lived several centuries ago.Be forewarned, however, that during part of the film you'll see a pig slaughtered. There is a reason for this--it isn't just gratuitous. But, many will find this rather disturbing.
James Marsh's documentary "The Animator of Prague" is a look at Czech cartoonist Jan vankmajer. vankmajer talks about not only animation as an art form, but also about having to work in Czechoslovakia back in the days when it was still under Soviet occupation. Prior to watching the documentary, I had never realized that there was any political content to his cartoons (except "The Death of Stalinism in Bohemia"). But, as vankmajer notes, many of the images that he shows might not make sense to anyone in 50 or 100 years.Anyway, if you've never seen any of his cartoons, you definitely should. They're some of the most impressive things out there.