If you’re familiar with the Brothers’ work, then you don’t need me telling you about this. If you’re not, well, I’m not all that sure I can tell you about it. Five films here, including Street of Crocodiles, Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies, Are We Still Married? The Comb, and Anamorphosis. Combining puppetry, stop motion, and lots of dust, the Quay Brothers (American-born identical twins based in London) work in the same vineyard as their apparent idol, Jan Svankmajer, the Dutch surrealist whose work is frequently the visual springboard for the Brothers’ nightmarish images. And nightmarish they are, echoing the uneasy, somnolent wanderings of fevered minds the world over. You almost expect Kafka’s Gregor Samsa to scuttle across the screen, or “K” to wander by, bewildered as ever. They don’t, of course, but they would hardly be out of place if they did. 1986’s Herculean effort, the award-winning Street of Crocodile, is among my favorite pieces of animation ever. At 21 minutes, it’s just long enough to give you bad (or at least resoundingly odd) dreams for days afterwards, as it follows the meanderings of an accidentally animated puppet-man who wanders about the decrepit interior of some nameless museum. As in most of the Quays’ work, everything is coated with a thin film of grime, and their characters are ancient, broken things, come to life and wandering about on strange errands whose significance you never can quite grasp. Another standout here is the recent Anamorphosis, which is an animated demonstration of the principles of this near-extinct art form, with an accompanying, illuminating voiceover. If you’re among those who have yet to experience the dark magic of the Quays, here’s you’re chance to see their haunting, unforgettable work in a theatre, where it belongs.
This article appears in January 24 • 2003.