Spoilers herein.
Imagine the "key" twins of `Zed and Two Noughts.' As they lay dying and decaying in the movie they are making, they imagine twenty six sessions of Carrollinian (conceptual) sex with their daughter, Alice. As they enter the underwonderworld of discarded beings, they are distracted by the Saragossa Manuscript. What results is this collection of story-rooms where they are forced to recreate themselves from the discarded detritus of themselves.
They recall literary and musical constructs and build a visual reality around them. As the world is synthetic, half of it has to go toward its own operation.
Any day, I'd trade ten evenings with Scorsese for one with the Quays.
This work quotes so much arcane literature that I am sure I missed 90% of the references. I thoroughly understand Polish kabbalah and Alice, so appreciated the still nights 2 and 4. In fact, I have never been so visually exhilarated as in those few minutes. The earlier stuff is too oppressive for me to choose my challenges in that flavor. I think Svankmajer got the Alice stuff all wrong, so the early homage to him is flawed. Lots of drawers... relatively unclever in previsualization.
I am tentatively giving this only a three of four. A four is must viewing, but I must wait until seeing `Institute Benj.'
Ted's evaluation: 3 of 4 -- Worth Watching
Imagine the "key" twins of `Zed and Two Noughts.' As they lay dying and decaying in the movie they are making, they imagine twenty six sessions of Carrollinian (conceptual) sex with their daughter, Alice. As they enter the underwonderworld of discarded beings, they are distracted by the Saragossa Manuscript. What results is this collection of story-rooms where they are forced to recreate themselves from the discarded detritus of themselves.
They recall literary and musical constructs and build a visual reality around them. As the world is synthetic, half of it has to go toward its own operation.
Any day, I'd trade ten evenings with Scorsese for one with the Quays.
This work quotes so much arcane literature that I am sure I missed 90% of the references. I thoroughly understand Polish kabbalah and Alice, so appreciated the still nights 2 and 4. In fact, I have never been so visually exhilarated as in those few minutes. The earlier stuff is too oppressive for me to choose my challenges in that flavor. I think Svankmajer got the Alice stuff all wrong, so the early homage to him is flawed. Lots of drawers... relatively unclever in previsualization.
I am tentatively giving this only a three of four. A four is must viewing, but I must wait until seeing `Institute Benj.'
Ted's evaluation: 3 of 4 -- Worth Watching