Story of the Bass Cello (1956) User Reviews

Play It Again!

[professor-x · 8/10 · 23 February 2007]

Like the majority of Trnka's work, the characters within "Story of the Bass Cello" are easily accessible. In this case, they are quirky, vulnerable, and honest.

I greatly enjoy Trnka's ability to simply and clearly communicate many instances of embarrassment with an economy of motion. The tale is so sharp, funny, and simple. The music is great.

The clean puppet designs and detailed costumes are classic Trnka. People often refer to him as the Walt Disney of the Czech Republic, but I think that does his work an injustice. Most of Trnka's work is clean enough for kids, but comfortably walks in a realm that will entertain children and adults. The look of his puppet animation is vastly different than anything Disney produced.

...great animation, great music, great fun!

This animation can be found within the American released "The Puppet Films of Jiri Trnka" DVD.

The Lady and the Musician

[Eumenides_0 · 8/10 · 5 January 2010]

Jiri Trnka uses a short-story by Chekhov as a jumping start to make an amusing animated short about embarrassment, vulnerability and chivalry. This wordless tale shows a cello player taking a swim in a river; when he returns to the shore he discovers his clothes gone. On another part of the river, a lady fishing also decides to take a swim and when she returns her clothes are also missing. The two figures meet and the musician finds an ingenuous solution to the lady's nudity, which is hiding her inside his bass cello trunk. This is the beginning of one final gag.

Trnka was a master animator. I fell in love with his work after watching The Hand, a condemnation of totalitarianism. Both shorts display the same attention to detail and humor, and display the same beautiful puppets. Both also display a concentration of humanity, of the best and worst in us, in few minutes of film. It's no wonder that this master went on to inspire people like Jan Svankmajer and Jiri Barta.

Cute and clever

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 26 August 2009]

This Czechoslovakian film has universal appeal, as there are no actual words but a sort of silly speech. Instead, through pantomime, the puppets are able to tell a cute story.

The film begins with some wooden or composition models. A man has a cello in a case and stops off in the park to skinny dip. However, when he returns to get his clothes, someone has stolen them! At the same time, a lady puppet does the same and her clothes are also stolen! The man is quite gallant and lets the lady hide inside his cello case to avoid the embarrassment.

When he doesn't show up for the concert he's supposed to be performing, the other musicians in the ensemble go looking for him. They don't find him but they do find the case and bring it back to the music hall--with the expected results when the thing is opened! Overall, while the stop-motion is a bit old fashioned and simple, the story is told so well you don't care. It's cute and clever and well worth seeing.

A beautiful story

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 15 September 2021]

As well as my high appreciation for stop motion/puppet animation and for Jiri Trnka, my main reason for seeing 'Story of the Bass Cello' was to see how it would adapt one of Anton Chekhov's, known more for his multi-dimensional characterisation and mastery of mood building that is evident in the likes of 'Uncle Vanya' and 'The Cherry Orchard', most accessible pieces of literature. With it being simpler characterisation-wise and thematically than his better known works.

'Story of the Bass Cello' is adapted beautifully here and is likely to make one eager to get more acquainted for Chekhov's work. Just be prepared for everything else of his being very different, and it may come over as a shock at first. It was the other way around, being familiar with Chekhov already but only having seen this recently. 'Story of the Bass Cello' is excellent too as a standalone and for me it is one of Trnka's best and most accessible short films and stacks up very well with the rest of his work as well.

My only issue really for 'Story of the Bass Cello' is that it is a little slow at times.

It however does look wonderful, as colourful and beautifully and meticulously detailed as ever. As well as scored in a way that suits the charming atmosphere fittingly. The comedy is genuinely amusing, it is all silent and of a gentle rather than outrageous kind but beautifully timed.

The story is very sweet, without being sickly, and filled with charm. Was moved by it too. The characterisation is simple but also very human and easy to be endeared by.

Overall, beautiful. 9/10.