Expected more

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

So far, I have visited the demented world of the Brothers Quay's most famous work "The Street of Crocodiles" twice, and I am still not exactly sure what the film is "about" per se, but there is no denying that has had a profound effect upon me. This is a striking and majestic glimpse into the demented corners of the universe crafted inside the genius minds of the Brothers Quay. Deserving, this is their most praised film, a film known for its beauty, magic, horror, and surrealism. This film does not take place on Earth. Of course, such is never explicitly stated and I do not even think that that was the Brothers Quay's intention; however, I shall firmly defend such a theory. NONE of the works of the Brothers Quay ever takes place on Earth, at least not the dimension that is known to us. These films take place...somewhere. In the darkest depths of the creative mind, in outer space, in the same universe that all brilliant and demented stop motion films come from. To watch a Brothers Quay film is to be swept away, brought on to a distant planet, and showcased some of the most dazzling and disturbing material one could ever witness. Several times during this film, I felt an inescapable, sinking feeling creeping up and down upon my body (mostly in the stomach area, to be exact), and this feeling was due entirely to the masterful, brooding, and angelic imagery before me (or perhaps I just ate too much for dinner today, one of those two).All of those who enjoy being cast away into fantastic lands, whether they be of brightness or darkness, must enter the enchanted, but pitiful and grim, territory of the Brotehrs Quay and, more specifically, that of the film which may be their absolute masterpiece, "Street of Crocodiles".

Talking recently to a DVD seller about having greatly enjoyed viewing a Cznch-New Wave title,I was happily caught by surprise,when the seller sent me a DVD of Cznch Stop-motion short films completely for free!.With this week having celebrated my 9th year of being on IMDb,I felt that the perfect way to wrap it up would be to see the Cznch stop-motion,in motion.The plot:Tidying up an empty hall,a man begins to play around with a half broken puppet,who ends up coming alive.Jumping straight into life,the puppet heads down to the basement of the hall,where it discovers a hidden,broken society.View on the film:Backed by a pitch-perfect score from Lech Jankowski which combines sharp-toothed Classical music with an Industrial hum,co-writers/ (along with Bruno Schulz) directors Stephen and Timothy Quay create a wonderful decaying world,with all of the puppets being made out of torn to shreds objects,which despite not looking that cute,do have a real character about them.For the screenplay of the movie,the writers smartly decide to deliver their view on a broken society in a subtle,visual manner,which whilst adding a dept to the events taking place in the title,also allows the viewer to enjoy the treats they discover,on their walk down crocodile street.

Much has already been said about this piece, but I am currently reading "Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass" by Bruno Schulz--a Polish Jew (author, artist, teacher) indiscriminately killed buying a loaf of bread by the Gestapo during the Second World War. After completing "The Street of Crocodiles" in 1934 and "Sanatorium [...}" in 1937 (currently rumored to be the Quay Brothers' next and third feature film after "Institute Benjamenta" and "The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes"), along with the lost manuscript of "The Messiah", the hallucinatory imagery of the books, where metaphor almost supersedes its subject, is captured exquisitely by the Brothers. My recommendation, having seen this film in two versions of the Brothers Quay collected short films, is to get the Region 2 BFI collection from Britain if possible. It features a more comprehensive body of their works in general along with excellent interviews and commentary (i.e. down to discussions regarding the logistics of working with thick layers of dust on the elaborate "Street of Crocodiles" set, while maintaining the illusion of seamless movement in single-frame animation). Parts of it are like a film course in themselves, regarding topics such as lighting, set building, and ball-joint armatures. Even in other Regions, it's worth getting a special player for the BFI Collection, if you are a serious fan or creator of stop-motion animation, art, experimental or surreal filmmaking.

Devotees of Jan Svankmajer and Kafka, identical twins Stephen and Timothy Quay distill every disturbing dream you've ever had into a decidedly unsettling short film. American by birth, the twins seem European by sensibility and have settled in London to make their films. Street of Crocodiles is one of their better known efforts and is obliquely influenced by Polish writer Bruno Schulz, who published the memoirs of his solitary life under the title, Sklepy Cynamonowe (literally translated as The Cinnamon Shops, although generally known in the English speaking world as Street of Crocodiles). The Quay's short follows a gaunt puppet who is released from his strings as he explores his bizarre surroundings: rooms full of dark shadows, unexplained machinery and strange eyeless dolls. Everything has a sense of decay and Victorian melancholy. There is a notion of a plot, possibly dealing with sexual tension, but really Street of Crocodiles is about establishing a mood and a nightmarish and deeply sinister world. The Quay's use of tracking shots and selective focus is unparallelled in the world of stop motion.