Street of Crocodiles (1986)

Inside a box full of curio, a puppet who is recently freed from his strings explores a dusty and forlorn commercial area. The explorer becomes ensnared into miniature tailor shop by baby-faced dolls.

Directors:

Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay

Writers:

Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay

Star:

Feliks Stawinski

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Feliks Stawinski	...	Caretaker

Storyline

Adapted from Polish writer Bruno Schulz's book, Stephen Quay and Timothy Quay's cornucopia of eerie enchantment portrays a dark underworld which envelops an emaciated puppet. Little by little, a stringless marionette wanders more and more into this desolate realm of strange mechanical rituals, only to be devoured by a horrible and carceral isolation, as a triplet of sinister female figures watches his every move from afar.

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Plot Keywords:

stop motion animation | surrealism | no dialogue | meat | machinery | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of 30 Christopher Nolan's favourite movies.

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Connections

Referenced in Point Five (2003)

User Reviews

Dark, uncomfortable but very good animated film

Although the imagery is familiar, I'm pretty sure that this was the first film from the Quay Brothers that I had seen and this is why I think it will stick with me. I will not pretend to understand the full commentary or relevance of it but the end titles do help with the portrayal of a soulless world and its outcome. What the makers have succeed in is creating a crushingly animated world where even the puppet freed from his strings comes to misfortune and perhaps looks back to wish he had never been able to break free from his mechanised controls/shackles.

This seems to be the thrust of it from what I can understand and in this regard I found it darkly satisfying and disturbing. With the theme in the background the foreground gets filled with disturbing images of decaying machinery and puppet figures, the doll-headed ones being an image that many viewers will find themselves recognising even if they are not entirely sure why. It is the creative images and movements that drive the film and even when I was not sure what I was watching, i was still very much held by what I was seeing. It is a dark and nightmarish piece of animation and I enjoyed it very much for that – even if it was not the most comfortable viewing ever.

Details

Official Sites:

DVD

Country:

UK

Language:

Polish English

Release Date:

July 1986 (UK)

Also Known As:

A krokodilusok utcája

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atelier Koninck, British Film Institute (BFI), Channel Four Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1