Film essay

The Flat by Jan Svankmajer

 In the 1984 Brothers Quay released film "The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer" named so as a tribute for their mentor and mastermind. Such a title is not accidental and it opens the perspective for Svankmajer's oeuvre. A Czech surrealist artist he created feature films and animations and had a huge impact on other artists, for example Tim Burton, Terry Giliam and Brothers Quay as mentioned. He investigated and revealed themes of fear, closed space and absurdity of everyday life.

 All these main topics reflected in "The Flat" (1968) and started from the earliest frames of the movie. First appearance of the character accompanied by alarming music and rapidly changing 'crumpled' images symbolizing the birth, ejection, somersault. Human come to be in restricted area with stringently defined rules the principal of which is unpredictability. The parallel vision we can find in the literature of the early twentieth century especially in Kafka's novels. Critics also have been told that his "films are as emotionally haunting as Kafka's stories"( Caryn James, The New York Times, April 13,1994).

 The next obvious reference arises in the scene with mirror when personage see only his own back of the head. It is the direct link to surreal paintings of Rene Magritte and concretely to his "Not to be reproduced"(1937). 

All the properties of reality acquire trait of absurdity, surrealism. The customary laws are broken and you have never predict how they will work next minute. I think this point of view is really operative. It makes you not just passive object inside the process but gives an opportunity of self-selection and evaluation of what is happening.

 Another strong reference is influence of Edgar Allan Poe. Connection with his novel "The Pit and the Pendulum"(1942) is traced in the episode of quickening and dangerously swaying light bulb on the cable. Brick wall and darkness complete impression of prison and imminent death. Besides Svankmajer made a short movie named "The Pendulum, the Pit and Hope"(1983) and three years earlier "The Fall of the House of Usher"(1980) all refer to literary heritage of Poe. One of the latest movie "Lunacy"(2005) is also based on two stories of Poe and explores the theme of danger power of the crowd.

Moreover Svankmajer not only employed and developed ideas of the previous artists but also influenced on next generations of directors. His concept evolved and advanced. For example Roman Polanski in "Tenant"(1976) worked with the same topic of closed space and its destructive impact on individuals.





Michel Gondry in movie "The Science of Sleep" (2006) used similar methods of mixing video and animation elements.

Finally Jan Svankmajer's films are still actual and can shock the audience and that approximates them to timelessness.