Daily Movie Rec 3/20/24

Faust (1994)

Directed by: Jan Švankmajer
Cinematography by: Svatopluk Malý




Plot:
Very loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 19th-century play of the same name, a man finds himself somewhat unwillingly involved in a bizarre adaptation of the play that breaks the bounds of the stage.


Reasons to watch:
Czech animator Jan Švankmajer's Faust was nominated for seven Czech Lions, winning three: Best Actor (Petr Cepek), Best Sound (Ivo Spalj), and Best Design (Švankmajer & Eva Svankmajerová). Švankmajer concocted one helluva strange brew that's equal parts dreamlike surrealism and carnivalesque absurdism with this dark meta-comedy that seems to suggest that life itself is an absurdist play in which we're all playing out our ridiculous roles. The filmmaker combined claymation, stop-motion, and marionette puppetry with live-action to tell what is surely one of the most bizarre renditions of Goethe's already fantastical source material. Faust is a bewildering gem of weird cinema.


Where to watch:
Kanopy/Fandor

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