Le Concert

Le concert de M. et Mme. Kabal (1963)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Entertaining, if rather minor, animated short from Walerian Borowczyk has Mr. Kabal trying to put on a piano show but his incredibly ugly and ultimately bizarre wife keeps messing everything up. Plot-wise there's really not too much going on here but if you're a fan of the director's rather bizarre shorts then you'll at least want to check this out. I thought the animation itself was rather good and there's no doubt that the director was able to bring a rather strange atmosphere to the picture. The wife character was certainly very memorable and you can just imagine how bitchy she is and you're certainly thankfully that you're not tied to her.

Taking a look at the shorts by auteur Walerian Borowczyk listed on the disc menu,one of the titles looked out of place. Checking the Arrow booklet,I found that they had forgot to list it! Leading to me playing this hidden gem.

View on the film:

Getting the Kabal's on stage years before they would become the main subject of his debut feature film Mr. and Mrs. Kabal's Theatre (1967-also reviewed) writer/director Walerian Borowczyk draws them in pen,rather then the thick felt tip pen style they would later be drawn with,giving the couple a softer appearance.

Departing from the cut-out style of his past shorts, Boro draws a early outline of macabre surrealism in his work,as Mr. Kabal dies on stage.