He_who_lurks This 1992 short film was the second in the Quay Brothers' "Stille Nacht" series. Each installment has nothing to do with the next, and like the previous installment ("Dramolet" from 1988) there is a soundtrack. While the soundtrack in that film didn't add that much to the overall effect, the music for "Are We Still Married?" really made the visuals haunting. Put together this is quite a creepy little movie.The film begins with flickering images of a eye and a bit of face. Later on, there's this handmade stuffed rabbit which moves by itself. A girl/puppet's stocking-covered leg rises and falls as the movie progresses, and a ball flickers. The music, which is literally a voice singing "are we still married" helps emphasize the title but otherwise this doesn't have much to do with what's happening on-screen. Like I said, though, it makes the visuals work well.Fans of surrealism will no doubt want to watch this short. The Quays are little-remembered today, but their work is available on YouTube and is worthwhile for anybody who enjoys Avant-garde filmmaking. If you're not a fan of it, then this won't make much sense otherwise and will come up as a pointless and boring movie.

morrison-dylan-fan Being in the mood to wrap up the week with the viewing of an animated title,I decided that it would be the perfect time to view a short on a DVD that a DVD seller had kindly given me on my Birthday.The plot:A white ball goes around a number of puppets and turns into a white light.As the white ball/light starts to bring the puppets to life,a young girl and a rabbit begin walking on walls.View on the film:Backed by a shimmering score from His Name Is Alive,co-writers/directors Stephen and Timothy Quay expertly use worn out black & white colours to create a hauntingly faded atmosphere,with the Quay also giving the title an unexpected somber feel,by dipping their toes into Alice's warped Wonderland.

Rectangular_businessman It is very hard express with words the unique beauty that the "Stille Nacht" shorts from the Brothers Quay have...Those brief, little shorts, instead of telling a story, express feelings, thoughts, but not in a ordinary way: Here, the eerie atmosphere and the strangeness is combined with an almost whimsical feeling of innocence and wonder, something that makes those "Stille Nacht" shorts an extraordinary, captivating quality, that could be only done using the animated medium.Those shorts are pretty much like little visual "poems", where the images serve to recreate the fantastic (and rather ambiguous) world of the dreams.This is is truly beautiful and fascinating. A must see.

spookytramp This is some of the Quay brothers best work. Mavericks of modern stop-motion animation, the Brothers Quay deliver a powerful and creepy vision of lost innocence in this all-too-short short film. The music -by the band His Name Is Alive- is mournful and creepy, and accentuates the somber black and white imagery in a world of dolls, broken toys, and decay. The characters flutter and jerk with unnatural movements while a normally inanimate objects hover and vibrate around them. To try and explain what is happening specifically in this film would be next to impossible, must be see to be believed. This film, as well as all Quay Brothers works, is recommended for anyone who enjoys surrealism or avant-garde film, particularly with a taste for corrosion. For other similar but more light-hearted works, check out the work of Czech animator Jan Svenkmeyer, who was a big influence on the work of the Quays.