Der Rattenfänger von Hameln

KRYSAR is a wonderfully dark, adult version of THE PIED PIPER, brought to life through stark, expressionistic, stop-motion animation.

In keeping with the original tale, the gluttonous, greed-driven townsfolk have a bit of a rat problem. These rodents are presented as dog-sized beasts, scurrying about, stealing anything they can snatch.

Director Jiri Barta has created a macabre, surreal world that is striking and bleak. Its jagged structures are gothic (check out those gargoyles!) and labyrinthine, providing plenty of places for the rats to hide. The people are very angular, somewhat robotic forms, that range from comical to frightening. The rats are the true stars, and are given ample opportunity to show what they can do to cause mayhem. It's obvious that a lot of time and effort went into this masterpiece!

The titular Piper is a mysterious, cloaked figure who arrives like a great wizard or an avenging specter.

Special mention must be made of the bizarre musical soundtrack, especially toward the end. As odd as it is, it fits the action perfectly.

This works because it's a fantasy that plays like a horror film. Highly recommended...

Jiri Barta's 1986 Pied Piper is a quintessentially dyspeptic, adult piece of Eastern Euro animation whose take on the classic morality fable is even more misanthropic than Jacques Demy's version. Here, a medieval town of avaricious, gluttonous bourgeoise is overrun by rats (the only live-action element, adding an extra grotesque dimension). Instead of a mischevious minstrel, the Piper who rids them of those pesky vermin is more like a cruel avenging angel-when betrayed, his bitterly ironic redress departs considerably from the tale's usual ending. Complete with stop-motion puppet rape and murder, these stunningly visualized 55 minutes are not quite apt for children.

As if it's brief running time or its oddly unique visual design weren't enough for this version of THE PIED PIPER not to be seen widely (especially by children - the nominal audience for "fairy tales"), KRYSAR has some ghoulishly Brothers Grimm imagery to boot. Too bad. This is an excellent extended short subject directed by Jirí Barta who's style may remind one of Jan Svankmajer or the Brothers Quay, without appearing derivative at all. KRYSAR follows the Pied Piper legend fairly faithfully - though with some notable Grand Guignol twists and horrific visions - until its final, unexpected, last act which I won't spoil. It's this final "topper" which separates this version from the pack - In addition to its visuals. The Visuals! Amazing and detailed wood-cut puppets that have a fluidity of motion that, at times, can be mesmerizing. The only flaw in the Visuals, is the use of paint accrection landscape paintings. Not that the "moving, flowing" artwork isn't well-rendered, they just don't mesh with the stop-motion animation - or the live rats!

I first decided that I had to see this film after seeing a few video clips of it at a website (if you want to find them - and trust me, it's worth it - go to a search engine and type in "Krysar clips"). The animation style was like nothing that I had ever seen before. If anything, it was like cubism in motion - more like the 1920 expressionistic horror film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (except in colour) than any traditional animation. Perspectives are skewed, characters are disfigured, and everything is made out of a material that you don't usually hear about in connection with animation - wood.

Having decided to watch it, I did a bit of searching and found that it was available on two different DVDs. First, there was a DVD available through some Japanese sites called "Labyrinth Of Darkness & Light" which featured most of Jiri Barta's work including Krysar (it came out to 118 minutes in total). Unfortunately, it cost 6000Yen, which is about $55USD - a little too expensive for me (EDIT: As of September 16, 2006, this DVD has been released in the US for a much cheaper price, and with English subtitles! This is definitely the version to get!). Second, there was another version of Krysar available by itself on a PAL R2 DVD for around 20 Euro on several French online stores. That's the one I bought - the PAL R2 thing wasn't an issue for me because I have a modded DVD player (they cost as little as $80 nowadays). This DVD also included a colourful 10-page booklet with an interview with Jiri Barta.

There were no English subtitles on my DVD, but this wasn't really problem because outside of the introduction all characters speak only gibberish in the film, a technique which works surprisingly well and also makes this film transcend language barriers.

Once I finally watched the film, I was simply amazed. Not only was the visual design simply sublime at all levels, but the music was memorable and appropriate, and the film worked really well as a story - the fears that I had about this film turning out to be just eye candy were completely allayed. There were many scenes in this movie which were genuinely powerful, a fair few which were amusing (in a grotesque way), and some which were quite beautiful. Even now as I write this, there are many scenes that I still remember vividly - the scene where the Hamelin city elite engage in debauchery, spilling wine and gnawing on meat bones; the scenes where the rats take complete control of the city at night; the scene in which a painting is created as the pied piper plays on his pipe; and many others.

If you're a fan of the unusual, and don't mind seeing something so completely different from Hollywood and Disney movies (which is not to say that there's nothing to appreciate in Hollywood/Disney movies), you really owe it to yourself to see this film. Watch the film clips that you can find on a Google search, and if you like what you see, just remember - there's a lot more of that in the full film, and those aren't even the best bits.

One thing that I DISLIKED though was that the "Krysar" DVD came without a chapter select, which in my opinion is inexcusable for a film that's nearly an hour long. Still, the image and sound quality were very good. I guess life can't be perfect. ;)

If you have any more questions about this film or the DVD, don't hesitate to send me a private message (you can do this by clicking on my name at the top of this review).

Probably Jiří Barta's most famous movie, "Krysař" is his own, very twisted (but fully relevant) version of "The Pied Piper". And it's like no version that you've ever seen.

We all know that Hamelin is overrun with rats, but this requires further explanation in Barta's interpretation. You see, the people are no better than the rodents: greedy, lusty, and often violent towards each other, the inhabitants of Hamelin are absolutely vile (except for the lone woman and a fisherman). But the actual rats present an impressive scenario. Far from the killing machines that the story often makes them out to be, these rats appear to be really clever, always figuring out ways to steal the humans' belongings.

As for the piper himself, he comes across as a sort of otherworldly presence, especially because of what he does at the end. But it's the only thing that he can do. Hamelin, meanwhile, looks like something out of a 1920s German movie.

Another movie version of the story that I've seen is one in which Donovan plays the piper. That version pertains more to the Bubonic Plague, which is probably what the original story centered on. This one is an analogy for a morally bankrupt society. The repulsive decadence that has taken over Hamelin is beyond redemption.

So this is truly one that I recommend.