The release of a new film by Svankmajer is always cause for celebration, and Faust is no exception. Svankmajer, the Czechoslovakian king of surreal animation, has been in the public eye since his 1980 depiction of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, followed by Alice, his adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and, more recently, several MTV art breaks. Anyone who loves the grim, surrealist humor of the Brothers Quay will find in Svankmajer a kindred spirit, full of dark pessimism and black humor. This, his take on Goethe’s Faust, is his most fully realized work to date, filled as it is with not only his trademark clay and stop-motion animation, but also involving a (more or less) linear narrative to update the original tale of the alchemist and his dealings with the devil. Czech actor Cepek isn’t Faust per se; instead, Svankmajer makes him a cipher, an unidentified Everyman, who, one day, while passing through the crowded streets on his way home from work, is given a mysterious handbill instructing him to go to a large house not far away. Once there, the man wanders into the building’s basement where he finds a fire-damaged copy of Goethe’s book and a Faustian costume — complete with beard and cloak — which he unhesitatingly dons. It’s here that Svankmajer’s magic kicks in, as piles of clay heaped about the Faustian set spring to life, transforming themselves into evil fetuses and other, less savory objects. As the film progresses, the man finds himself caught in Goethe’s world, playing the part of the alchemist as life-sized puppets beseech him to join the forces of darkness. Svankmajer imbues the film with his trademark sense of unreality, keeping dialogue to a bare minimum and leaving the audience reeling. It’s all very Kafkaesque in a way; Cepek could well be Joseph K. on yet another bizarre adventure. Strange in the best sense of the word, Svankmajer has once again proven himself one of the most disturbing and unconventional filmmakers working today.
This article appears in October 14 • 1994 (Cover).