This is the Quay Brothers' tribute to Jan Svankmajer, a Czech animation filmmaker who is considered to be among the finest in history in the genre. I cannot really agree with that. I am not too b'much of a Svankmajer fan, but even less of the Quay Brothers probably. Then again, if you like darker animation, you will probably enjoy this 14-minute short film a lot more than I did. It was made over 30 years ago and consists of several very short films that, taken together, make up this quarter of an hour. My overall verdict is a negative one though because I usually prefer my animation bright and fluffy, but also the stories in here didn't do too much for me. Thumbs down.

If you're into film, you're most likely familiar with Stephen and Timothy Quay as well as Jan Švankmajer. Remarkably talented stop-motion animators, they are also distinctly different and for that reason alone worth seeing together.This film is easy to see as a mere acknowledgment, but it's more than that. Švankmajer definitely features in the film as the strangely madcap creator of illusions in his cabinet; the ambiguity then arises from the fact the boy, to me at least, is the one who explores the world and has the pep and spiritedness. He's the one whose mind is explored, put on the table and ultimately stuffed with the things the creator wants.When I think of Švankmajer, I think of a bleak reality that translates to socio-political commentary in filmic terms. The Brothers Quay, however, I associate with purely cinematic stories, their metaphorical film language not so much describing even allegorically any external condition but rather triggering solely visual reactions, much like Joyce's "Finnegans Wake", to which I already referred to in an earlier review. For me the Quay's speak more. Not that it has to be either or.

Interesting grasps of motion and artistry here. The Quay Brothers pay homage to their key inspiration, though I not knowing their key inspiration well enough couldn't tell if it's all them or all Svankmejer, though this is very distinctive and beautiful stuff.Interestingly enough it reminds me a lot of Tool music videos, especially their one for Prison Sex (the room of cabinets, cabinets within cabinets, cabinets reacting to characters' curiosity, etc.), which leads me to believe that one Adam Jones is a Brothers Quay fan. Tool's video, however, seems to really focus on the creepy while this one seems a lot more interested in learning and motion. Must definitely be the Quay brothers seeing themselves as the pupil.To tell the truth the most interesting part of this short is the segment called "The child learns a lesson in 1/24th second." In case you don't know (which you should, if you're interested in experimental stuff like this), a single frame of a motion picture shoots by at 1/24th a second, or there are 24 frames per second. Thus this is probably the most self-reflexive part of the film, a little postmodern in its approach to lessons and learning of the form, which is why it's basically a series of jump cuts and a play on time. Very cool.--PolarisDiB

The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer, is a delight if your looking for a strange puppet animation short film of the highest water. You've seen nothing like it, unless you've seen the perfect work of The Brothers Quay. For fans, like myself of strange animation, and Fans, like myself of The Rocky Horror Picture Show this is that perfect short film to wet your appetite.