Tma/Svetlo/Tma

I can't stop watching the short and feature films of the masterful animator Jan Svankmajer. His films manage to be surreal, creepy, weird, and funny, and "Darkness Light Darkness" manages to be one of his greatest accomplishments!

It is a very simple short film. The premise is that, in a room, various human body parts come together to create an actual human body, in only 7 minutes. It's a bizarre concept, which manages to be much less complicated than, say, "Dimensions of Dialogue" or "The Death of Stalinism in Bohemia" which both are much more political, and full of symbolism. "Darkness Light Darkness" isn't really political (at least I do not think it is, but there's the slight chance it could be, considering Svankmajer actually said that ALL of his films are political in the short documentary about him called "Animator of Prague"), but it is really surreal.

The atmosphere is somewhat uncomfortable and uneasy. No soundtrack accompanies the bizarre creation of this human body. But, as discomforting as its atmosphere is, "Darkness Light Darkness" also manages to be quite hilarious in its own weird way.

It serves as a sort of twist on the body horror genre, replacing horror with Svankmajer's dark sense of humor. He seems to play around with the strange concept, and fits some pretty funny scenarios into its short 7 minute runtime.

This is one of my favorite short films.

"Darkness, Light, Darkness" is a creepy stop-motion film. However, it's not nearly as creepy as many of Jan Svankmajer's other films...that's for sure!

The film begins with a pair of clay hands in a room. The hands seem to have a mind of their own. Soon, other body parts begin to come into this very crowded room--first some eyes, then ears, a head and so on until eventually the entire body is assembled by the hands and crowds the room.

While this doesn't sound like a lot of plot, the film IS highly entertaining. In fact, I cannot recall another stop-motion film I enjoyed more. I think it's because of the amazing quality of the film combined with a sick and bizarre sense of humor that really kept my interest. Not to be missed!!

My first entry in to Jan Svankmajer's world was with "Neco z Alenky", a surreal take on Alice in Wonderland that drew me in instantly. After watching "Neco z Alenky", I immediately started looking for more material by Jan Svankmajer, and I came across this little short animation which blew my mind out of the water.

During the 6 minutes of "Tma/Svetlo/Tma" (Darkness/Light/Darkness) we are invited to witness the different parts of the human male body entering a room separately and trying to figure out how to complete the human form. During this, the small room gets more and more crowded and difficult to move in. To me, the message this short gave me was that we should not aim higher than our capabilities, or we might end up with our goals crowding a small room, eventually turning off the light on it. But this is my interpretation, I've read several more interesting ones as well.

If you enjoy surreal / abstract cinema art, you owe it to yourself to watch this short as soon as possible, you will not be disappointed.

If you are a fan of Jan Svankmajer, definitely check this out. Subtitled as "Scenes From The Surreal," this collection of Svankmajer's short films includes "Darkness, Light, Darkness," "Manly Games" and "Death of Stalinism," plus a documentary on Svankmajer and his work. Those who are familiar with his full-length features such as "Alice" or "Faust" will instantly recognize the trademark usage of clay animation and marionettes combined with live action. On "Darkness, Light, Darkness" we witness a clay man basically building himself up from a scratch. "Manly Games" is a soccer game like you've never seen it before. (When a player is down, he is really down, I'll tell you that.) And "Death of Stalinism" is Svankmajer's unique rumination on the fall of communism and the Velvet revolution in Czech republic.

So, if you are a fan of Svankmajer, this, of course, is mandatory. If you are not, check this out and you just might become one.

Each film of Jan Svankmajer is, for me , kick to wake up. Tma/Svetlo/Tma is one par excellence. Because it reminds the universe of Alice in the small room and its significances, the build of a body , in which the hands are the first workers , the sexual organs before the clay as material for the body . So, a seductive parable , poetic and profound useful.