Being from the Quay Brothers, this 1992 short film (the second in their "Stille Nacht" series) has obviously nothing to do with it's predecessor--"Dramolet" from 1988 which was several minutes shorter than this. While the soundtrack in that previous film didn't add that much to the overall effect, the music for "Are We Still Married?" really makes the visuals haunting and changes the overall effect you get when you watch it. The result of the music track added to the film is an enchanting work, possibly one of the Quay's most interesting shorts.
The film utilizes some very weird images: flickering images of a eye and a bit of a face, a handmade stuffed rabbit which moves by itself, a girl/puppet's stocking-covered leg which rise and fall as the movie progresses, and a ball which flickers. The music, literally a voice singing "are we still married" over and over again is what gives the film its title, but more importantly it makes the visuals--which are already very surreal--both haunting and beautiful at once. As a result, the impact that watching "Are We Still Married?" gives you will stay with you after you've seen it, and like I did you'll probably also have a difficult time ridding yourself of the beautiful melody.
This Quay film was a music video for a song by "This Name Is Alive" and the short fulfills to perfection what a music video is supposed to do: fit a piece of music to video images. The way the imagery here fits with the music is so brilliant that it seems impossibly so. Mostly for a fan of the Quay Brother's work, but those who love the song itself could probably watch the short for the music alone and still enjoy the beauty of the work.
The film utilizes some very weird images: flickering images of a eye and a bit of a face, a handmade stuffed rabbit which moves by itself, a girl/puppet's stocking-covered leg which rise and fall as the movie progresses, and a ball which flickers. The music, literally a voice singing "are we still married" over and over again is what gives the film its title, but more importantly it makes the visuals--which are already very surreal--both haunting and beautiful at once. As a result, the impact that watching "Are We Still Married?" gives you will stay with you after you've seen it, and like I did you'll probably also have a difficult time ridding yourself of the beautiful melody.
This Quay film was a music video for a song by "This Name Is Alive" and the short fulfills to perfection what a music video is supposed to do: fit a piece of music to video images. The way the imagery here fits with the music is so brilliant that it seems impossibly so. Mostly for a fan of the Quay Brother's work, but those who love the song itself could probably watch the short for the music alone and still enjoy the beauty of the work.