How the Mole got his Pants: charming little short on making flax that set off a phenomenon
Zdenek Miler, “How the Mole got his Pants / Jak krtek ke kalhotkám prišel” (1957) As it turns out, I’ve stumbled across the famous series of cartoons…
Eastern European Films
Reviews of films from Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and countries that used to be the old Yugoslavia (Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia).
Krtek a Hodiny: amusing children’s animated film hides a moral about industrialisation’s effects on humans
Zdenek Miler, “Krtek a Hodiny” (1995) Found this 28-minute cartoon on Youtube while looking for Latvian animated shorts which compared to the abundance of Estonian animated…
Jabberwocky: meditation on growing up, conforming and assuming adult responsibilities
Jan Svankmajer, “Jabberwocky / Zvahlav aneb Saticky Slameneho Huberta” (1971) Inspired by the Lewis Carroll poem of the same name, and which it dispenses with early…
Dimensions in Dialogue: three types of communication satirise society and politics
Jan Svankmajer, “Dimensions in Dialogue / Moznosti Dialogu” (1982) Hilarious three-part stop-motion animated film that investigates communication breakdown in its various forms, “Dimensions in Dialogue” is…
Stairs: a deceptively simple film with a deep and powerful message about finding meaning and purpose in an alienated life
Stefan Schabenbeck, “Stairs / Schody” (1969) A minimalist claymation 7-minute piece, “Stairs” is one of those teeny-tiny classics about the human search for meaning in life…
Crime and Punishment (dir. Piotr Dumala): unusual and subtle animation no substitute for lack of plot and unsatisfactory resolution
Piotr Dumala, “Crime and Punishment / Zbrodnia i Kara” (2000) The style of animation associated with Piotr Dumala is unusual and often emotionally intense: using plasterboard…
The House: early foray into cut-out stop-motion animation could have done with a stronger vision and extra time
Walerian Borowczyk and Jan Lenica, “The House / Dom” (1958) Rather odd film in which a woman (Ligia Branice), seemingly trapped and bored in an apartment…
The Labyrinth: absurd surrealist animated film portrays a bizarre totalitarian society
Jan Lenica, “The Labyrinth / Labirynt” (1963) Superficially this looks like a Terry Gilliam / Monty Python animated cartoon and it is indeed very funny and…
Franz Kafka: lack of story and direction drag down an otherwise very fine brooding and melancholy film
Piotr Dumala, “Franz Kafka” (1992) A 15-minute film of various episodes in the life of early 20th century Czech writer Franz Kafka, this is remarkable mainly…
A Quiet Week in the House: becoming a voyeur to view, record and pass on news of desperate attempts to be free
Jan Svankmajer, “A Quiet Week in the House / Tichy tyden v dome” (1969) A strange little film even by my standards of strangeness, this combines live…