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 the only times that a short film competed for the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival (1986).

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Connections

Featured in Celluloid Dreams (2002)

User Reviews

10/10

We feel as if we're in a completely different world watching this -- and not necessarily just because of the animation, which is spectacular. It has more to do with the architecture of the images, and the way the camera investigates the space -- you feel as if you're in a shoebox, tinted with brown-gold sepia tones of rot. The way the camera moves is really very striking. For the comparisons to Kafka, I think it's specifically in the dislocation of the image that the Quays bring out his influence. This film is as if Jack Skellington went down the wrong tree. (The eyeless dolls must have influenced "Toy Story"'s horror sequence.) We're in this strange, unfamiliar place, and the camera slides around in very smooth yet jittery movements as if our eyes. We see objects like screws move around on their own, and objects drop calmly as if the sky is falling; our vision is distorted as images of our hero are stretched. I haven't read the Bruno Schulz, so I'm pretty much limited strictly to experiencing this visually. 10/10

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