Czech animation
is rather good. Certainly better than the British rubbish I was exposed to over Xmas. I have to admit that I approached a the DVD of Werich's Fimfárum with more than a little trepidation. I enjoyed Svankmajer's mix of animation and live-action in Conspirators of Pleasure tremendously, but my main memories of Czech cartoons were as a child in the 1980's, when shorts from beyond the Iron Curtain would be shown on BBC2 (as parodied by the 'Worker and Parasite' cartoon (thanks to Boing Boing) that replaces Itchy & Scratchy in the 'Krusty Gets Cancelled' episode of The Simpsons). Anyway, to return to the point, the DVD is bliss. The first film, about a farmer who makes deals with devil, is beautifully animated, full of drunken Czechs (I am utterly convinced that children's culture, be it cartoons, books, songs, or whatever, is truly the way to enage with a culture - or maybe I'm just tragically immature). The visions of hell that Cupera passes through to stop drinking are truly inspired, and the Devil (when he appears), naturally has a foreign accent (a la Woland in M&M, and probably many other literary manifestations of Beelzebub - those of you far better read than myself can advise). There are another four animation for me to work my way through, and I shall try to post reviewettes once I have watched them.
posted by lukeski at 1:14 am
9 Comments:
Liukchik, this is the first bit of anything to do with bloggery that I've ever done with my newish laptop, so forgive me if the typing is even worse than usual. Plus it's 3 in the morning. I didn't know it was allowed yet to criticise Wallace and Thingy. Are you sure you won't be locked up?
Yes, the Czechs are famously good at animation. I'd like to put it down to some aspect of the Slavic soul - the Russians are rightly proud of their animations too - but there has to be something commie about it as even our East German friends were shit hot. In fact, the Sandmännchen seems to be about the only thing to have survived the DDR, in my humble view.
I've had similar thoughts about children's literature/culture being a window to the nation's soul. I've always found there to be something fairy-taleish about the Russian countryside, for example, and that world seems best captured in the children's world, as you say. And then maybe there was an extra desire in Communist lands to make the children's world extra sugary and sweet, both because children were so actively, ideologically cherished but maybe also because folk knew what a dodgy world they'd be growing up into. Perhaps.
Hope the Sandmännchen has already lulled you to sleep.
Liukchik, I've just visited your links to the Czech things - couldn't manage it on the laptop - and they are lovely and I insist we all move to the Czech Republic - I wish that country would rename itself - immediately. I think cartoon/animation-makers must be very tragic or gloomy figures with good hearts. There are so many characters who seem to have an inherent and unshakeable understanding that they are nothing and their lives will come to nothing, and animations invariably seem to show them in a fairly sympathetic light. Bobble-nosed, depressed alcoholics, say, but you can't help liking them. It's a softer, alternative, fantasy world, sort of like the World Service but with pictures.
Ok, Bib, the Sandmännchen, das stimmt. But what about the grüne Pfeil, Mülltrennung (ok, it disappeared in 1989 and came back in 1994), and the Mitropa? Take that back, Mitropa's virtually been abolished. But what about the Palast der Republik? Don't tell me they're going to start knocking that down any day now, will you?
Just come back from the Cesko half of Ceskoslovensko, and jolly nice it was too. I'd like to move there as well*. I still have a wad of Crowns that I might use in a (Hungarian) EuroCity's restaurant on the way to Hamburg sometime. Was a bit worried about the Cesky Drahy insisting I not only type in my PIN but also sign when buying our train tickets back (with Bahncard discount!) at Karlovy Vary. My bank account is probably well and truly empty by now.
* I say that about most places I go to that aren't Basildon. (I haven't been to Eisenhüttenstadt yet, but I think its charms would escape me though).
OK, IHMN, I admit it, you've out-DDRed me there. Even a trawl through google has left me none the wiser.
Have you noticed there's nothing that terrifies Lukeski more than a comment from strangers? He instantly goes silent on us. Even with encouraging words about Cesko. (What about the country being called Czechia in English? It works for the Russians. And Tschechien auf Deutsch ain't too bad. (Although allegedly Tschechei gives them BSE.))
By the way, does your pal Leon's site count as a blog? I'm wondering how to categorise a link to it...
I believe the editorial board there refer to it as a magazine.
Grüne Pfeil: the green arrow on traffic lights (but not usually part of the lights, just a sign) which means even if it's red, you can turn right.
You understand Mülltrennung, I'm sure. Except that in the GDR it was more organised, worked, wasn't a fraud, and had more than a bit of 'bob a job' about it (in the days when 'bobbing a job' was allowed and it didn't smack of Kindesmißbrauch). And the Mitropa? Wikipedia, I'd say.
Czechia. I don't know. I'd prefer "Bohemia and Moravia" - as I believe a large number of Czechs did when they weren't sure what to call their new country, once they'd got rid of most of the industrial and poor parts of the place. But, you're the one who went to SSEES, so I assume you'd know more.
Do you still have the Ampelmaennchen in (the former) East Berlin - I vaguely remember a campaign to replace it with the standard BRD crossing signs (although I may have imagined this...)? I quite fancy heading off the Czechland soon. I do have to get a new passport as mine is just about to expire, so this may delay my departure anywhere by quite a time.
Bizarre. I post about Ampelmaennchen, head over to BiB, and Dezik has just posted with a link to the Ampelmann site. Is this synchronicity? Or is that just an album by a dreadful English cod-reggae/jazz band?
The Ampelmännchen are even in bits of west Berlin (bzw. "Berlin" bzw. "Westberlin" oder "Berlin-West) now. New ones. And Saxony has introduced "Ampelmädchen".
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