Review on Jan Svankmajer

Review on Jan Svankmajer

Jan Svankmajer

Jan Svankmajer's uses stop motion to make his films which are strange and quite often repulsive, but entertaining to watch. These films show little or no emotion at all, but that adds to some of their unpredictable moments, as mentioned on prague.net. 'His films are unpredictable, often switching moods, ironic, devoid of pathos. There is little true emotion on screen, his characters seem to be bound by their desires and perversions, they’re not likeable.' (Prague.net, 2008) Although they are surreal, they are not forgettable as they are diverse with different techniques and materials, from clay to food to inanimate objects. Even though Svankmajer's films are animated he prefers to not call himself an animator, but to merely bring life to every day objects, as explained by Wendy Jackson on awn.com. 'While a majority of these films have been animated, Svankmajer refuses to be classified as an animated filmmaker, or for that matter, as any particular type of artist. "Animators tend to construct a closed world for themselves, like pigeon fanciers or rabbit breeders." Svankmajer stated in an interview, "I never call myself an animated filmmaker because I am interested not in animation techniques or creating a complete illusion, but in bringing life to everyday objects.' (Jackson, 1997) Although these films appear to be aimed at adults, Svankmajer has been inspired from his childhood and uses his inner child as a base to create these films, as explained by Leslie Felperin Sharman on filmreference.com. 'Ironically, while his films are often characterized by others as "adult" animation, Švankmajer himself insists that, "I'm interested, in the first instance, in a dialogue with my own childhood. Childhood is my alter ego . . . . Animation can bring the imagery of childhood back to life and give it back its credibility.' (Sharman, 2011) 

 Dimensions of Dialogue

  

Bibliography

  

Prague.net (2008) Jan Svankmajer. http://www.prague.net/jan-svankmajer (Accessed on: 19.03.11)

Jackson, Wendy (1997) The Surrealist Conspirator: An Interview With Jan Svankmajer. http://www.awn.com/mag/issue2.3/issue2.3pages/2.3jacksonsvankmajer.html (Accessed on: 19.03.11)

Sharman, Leslie, Felperin (2011) Svankmajer, Jan. http://www.filmreference.com/Writers-and-Production-Artists-Sh-Sy/-vankmajer-Jan.html (Accessed on: 19.03.11)

List of Illustrations

  

Figure 1. Jackson, Wendy (1997) Jan Svankmajer. [Photograph] At: http://www.awn.com/mag/issue2.3/issue2.3pages/2.3jacksonsvankmajer.html (Accessed on: 19.03.11)

Figure 2. Svankmajer, Jan (1982) Dimensions of Dialogue. At: http://www.berlinale.de/en/das_festival/special_presentations/winter_ade/Winter_ade.html (Accessed on: 19.03.11)