Le joueur de flûte

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.

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).

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.

Krysar (The Pied Piper) is a 55-minute film, almost all of it stop-motion animation. That's a total of 3,300 seconds, or 79,200 frames of film, each one a little different than the one before to give the illusion of motion. I've no idea how many person-hours of work went into this little gem, but it shows. The story line follows the fairy tale pretty much, except for the denouement. The sets look like they were made by the folks who did The Cabinet of Caligari and the people puppets have rather angular faces. A rather well-done film, although I found myself wondering if Czechoslovakia had a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - some of the rats in the moat didn't look too happy.

Krysar, also known as "The Rat Catcher", is a truly beautiful bit of obscure animation, executed by Czech animator Jiri Barta (not to be confused with the late Jiri Trnka).

The most amazing aspect of Krysar, other than its sheer oddity, is the unfathomable amount of labor that went into its production. If you manage to find a copy of this film with "the making of" included, you'll be astonished as characters evolve from sketches into finalized wax sculpts, which are later perfectly replicated in wood by a master carver.

While the storytelling itself is linear, the characters faux language makes Krysar an interesting ride. People often liken the visuals with cubism, which does a somewhat accurate job of summing up the animations crooked 3D format. Every shot is a very well planned collage of 3D puppets and skewed sets.

If you enjoy stop motion, and animation in general, this is a very colorful, disturbing, and worthwhile piece of puppet animation. While not entirely suitable for children, I wouldn't hesitate in showing this to teens.

After years of being unable to purchase Barta's work within the US, a wonderful compilation of his work has finally been released onto a region 1 DVD. The disc is entitled "The Labyrinth of Darkness", which I find rather humorous. A compilation of Barta's work was released years earlier in Japan, with almost the same title "Labyrinth of Darkness and Light". I guess America's Grimm loving population is too cool for the light.

Related Fable Animations: Old Czech Legends - Jiri Trnka The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship - Francis Vose