Film

The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer 1984

Directed by Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay, Keith Griffiths

  • Animation
  • 14 min

In Prague, a professorial puppet, with metal pincers for hands and an open book for a hat, takes a boy as a pupil. First, the professor empties fluff and toys from the child's head, leaving him without the top of his head for most of the film. The professor then teaches the lad about illusions and perspectives, the pursuit of an object through exploring a bank of drawers, divining an object, and the migration of forms. The child then brings out a box with a tarantula in it: the professor puts his "hands" into the box and describes what he feels. The boy receives a final lesson about animation and film making; then the professor gives him a brain and his own open-book hat.

Heads up
  • Body horror

Log it

Sign in to log this.

Character

Not read yet. Character is read in the background after the first visit.

Who loves it, who doesn't

No profiled raters yet.

Ask the title

A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.

YesNoUnclear