Our Lady of the Sphere: experimental film’s welcome wears out quickly
Larry Jordan, “Our Lady of the Sphere” (1969) An intriguing and colourful film, “Our Lady of the Sphere” is based on the Bardo Thodol, a Tibetan…
Asparagus: colourful surreal exploration of female sexuality
Suzan Pitt, “Asparagus” (1979) A stunning and very colourful film short with a distinct animation style reminiscent of old cartoons from the 1930s, “Asparagus” is an…
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…
French and French-language Films
Les Jeux des Anges: blackly humorous indictment of concentration camps and police-state societies
Walerian Borowczyk, “Les Jeux des Anges” (1964) So far the strangest film I have seen from Borowczyk, “Les Jeux …” at first doesn’t appear to have…
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…
French and French-language Films
Les Astronautes: droll and inventive animation collage film about an irrepressible scientist-hero
Walerian Borowczyk, Chris Marker, “Les Astronautes” (1959) An entertaining little film short, “Les Astronautes” is a stop-motion animation collage of photographs copied, cut and pasted onto…
French and French-language Films
Hiroshima Mon Amour: simple story of two lovers hides complicated message about memory and the fragility of existence
Alain Resnais, “Hiroshima Mon Amour” (1959) This famous film tells a very deceptively simple story: a French actress whom we’ll call She (Emmanuelle Riva) is in…
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…
The Thomas Beale Cipher: good-looking collage / rotoscoped animation film let down by small scale of plot and concept
Andrew S Allen, “The Thomas Beale Cipher” (2010) Unusual collage-type animated film that’s based on the legend about the three cypher-texts that supposedly reveal the location…