The Cabinet Of Jan Švankmajer + panel

This is what film festivals are for, bringing the unusual to the general public. Most of the audience were already aficionados or students exploring this ground-breaking Czech animator. The hour-long documentary (1984), an experimental stop-motion film by Keith Griffiths and twins Stephen and Timothy Quay, gave us a fertile introduction to his surreal world of fairy-tale, puppetry and nightmare. Flaws have appeared over time, the talking-head commentators turn out to be experts only on surrealism in general rather than on Švankmajer. Frank Gray’s discussion with the current authority on Švankmajer, Michael Brooke of the BFI, was more coherent and interesting.

Komedia, 19 November 2013

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