Faust (1994)

Jan Svankmajer(Alice/Conspirators Of Pleasure), who I've been watching a lot of, as of late, has a story that incorporates elements of the Faust play, book, and folk tales, in a unique stop animation/claymation/ and puppetry driven surrealist film. A man receives a map on a subway from a stranger follows it to strange theater, housing life size puppets manipulated by always out of sight puppeteers(only their hands are visible), where he sells his soul to Lucifer, making himself Lucifer's servant until death, and is unmade by his hubris. It's edited much better than Alice was, and is immediately rewarded for it, its much faster and has less boring bits. It's a lot funnier and more horrific, as well. A good addition for Svankmajor fans.

This is not a movie that strikes the first time viewer. It asks for some former knowledge. It mainly relies on the epic Faust by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, but since monologue and dialog have been very rare in this one, symbols are probably easier to read if the book has been previously read. For example, the empty egg in the bread which actually contains one's soul according to pagan mythology could be overlooked.This is as far as the script is concerned. The directory, however, is done by one of the greatest and most influential stop-motion-animation masters and puppeteers, greatly appreciated by the well known Quay Brothers (see The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer) as well as the others. This means that very imaginative and expressive combination of animation, string puppets theater and acting is expected.When one thinks about the story of Faust, the question that often pops in one's head is what would be the price on my soul. Faust traded his soul for the absolute understanding which in the end he does not receive. However, the moment of gaining control over his destiny is shown so simply and yet so powerfully – the moment of detaching strings, the question that remains is who was pulling Faust's strings in the moment he decided to sell his soul. That was the decision he made former to his strings detaching. The movie swarms with this sort of fractions that trigger bursts of reflections and that's why this movie won't put you to sleep. On the other hand, if you are sleepy go watch something else, this movie deserves attention.

The classic tale of Faust, the man who sold his soul to the devil, is given a strange twist. In the film, an ordinary guy finds a map on a subway which leads him to an abandoned theater. He chants the phrases which cause the devil to appear. The devil offers him anything he wants in exchange for his soul. Then we are treated to creepy marionette puppets that act out the play. Czech animator Jan Svankmajer is most notorious for his nightmarish stop motion film "Alice"(1988). In "Faust" he also combines his usual elements of live actors, puppets and clay animation. Most memorable is the creepy baby made of clay. Svankmajer creates his own bizarre world that is creepy yet often humorous. So if you enjoy surrealism, stop motion animation or any film that is in a category of its own; you should definitely see Jan Svankmajer's unique vision of "Faust".

This film is wonderful. It is a very creative piece and a unique version of Goethe's Faust (not the play). It is made to appeal to those who enjoy art house film's. In America I would say 99 out of 100 people would dislike or even hate it, simply because it's really odd. It's really meant for those who want to see a story unfold in an abnormal light. As to the previous comment about the dubbing, It was not redubbed in english. The seven lines were orginaly recorded in english and the over-dubbed sound is part of the surreal effect that was intended to be there. If you havent seen it, then I'll give an example. Imagine a lump of clay hitting the ground. *thud* Now in Faust it goes *THUD-BUMP-SPLAT* with other little sounds. Very different but the sound helps get the idea accross.