Arie prerie

Whilst I'm not sure I recall too many damsels in distress from Western movies either knitting or delivering some perfectly pitched light opera, we have that here in this enjoyable puppet-style animated parody of all things Wild West. Our adventure is all centred around a stagecoach travelling through what looks like Death Valley. The driver is getting steadily more drunk as they enter the dangerous territory where the bandits lurk. They want the gold, sure - but what about our chanteuse? Is she quite as weak and feeble as we might expect? Much of it is set at night, which isn't great for the detail and the lighting, but the caricatures work well here - especially the card tricks, the howling wolves and the dastardly banditos giving us a bit of a gunfight at the end who allow our very own acrobatic "Ringo Kid" to ride in to maybe save the day and, we hope, the gal! When the sopranos allow, this is a more traditionally scored, entertaining and even slightly menacing pastiche that John Ford and Howard Hawks might have been able to smile at. Maybe even John Wayne too - he didn't mind a bit of singing in his early films. The ending - well that just proves the dangers of smoking and is great fun.

A musical parody of the classic westerns, mainly inspired in the characters and situations in "Stagecoach", this Jiøí Trnka animated short is not only an art direction exercise in a genre foreign to Czech filmmakers but a variation of the usual main premise: this time the heroic cowboy does not fall for the bad girl with a heart of gold, but instead he sings his love (out of the blue) to the refined dame (not pregnant), the villain is a gambler, while the driver's companion consumes all the whiskey in sight. The non-stop singing links the film more to the European operatic tradition than to a musical. A funny short and an opportunity to see a master at work.

There were two main reasons for wanting to see 'The Song of the Prairie'. That it was directed by Jiri Trnka, a pioneering figure in the development of stop motion/puppet animation. Who also has a very good track record when it comes to his short films. And also that the genre was the Western (not one of my favourite genres but have always appreciated it), was very intrigued in seeing how well it would work in stop motion/puppet animation and to see it both parodied and paid homage to.

In my view, 'The Song of the Prairie' is one of Trnka's best overall works, a strong contender for his best short film and another one of his most accessible. Containing too some of his best and most inspired work as a director. Despite being an early effort of his, one would not think so with the technique looking as good as it is and it was like he had already found his niche. His style suits itself well to the Western genre, and when it comes to parodying and homaging 'The Song of the Prairie' is pretty much a triumph.

Here in 'The Song of the Prairie', the visuals are beautifully detailed and suitably quirky. Nothing sloppy about the way the characters move. The photography captures the quirkiness of the character designs and the colourful atmosphere of the backgrounds very vividly. The use of music is also quite charming, in a way that rouses the spirits and the characterful energy is difficult to resist.

Loved the tongue in cheek and visually imaginative humour and there is not a dull moment in the action. 'The Song of the Prairie' not only hilariously and cleverly parodies the Western genre, but it also very affectionately pays homage to and honours it. The story may be slight.

But it is also immensely entertaining and charming. A vast majority of the typical Western genre cliches are here, but they are embraced and not treated in a throaway or too derivative a fashion. Almost like a love letter to the genre. The characterisation is quirky and human while not trying to over-complicate.

Overall, wonderful. 10/10.