I’ll be honest. I’ve never read Stanislaw Lem’s story “Maska.”
I have no idea what it is like.
However, I’m reasonably certain that it is nothing like this strange little animated short from the Quay Brothers.
Now the Quay Brothers, Stephen and Timothy are known for their surreal animated films, and their work often gets compared to that of Czech animator Jan Švankmajer. However, their animation work is unique because it uses a lot of things not generally found in animated film, from lens flares to soft focus and hazy lighting effects. I’m not entirely certain how this is even possible in a stop-motion animated film but somehow they did it and made it part of their signature dark and moody style.
This time, they combined a strange dark world filled with half-seen things hidden in the darkness with a singular collection of often bizarre puppets.
But then, I suspect that probably describes a lot of their films.
The story starts with the construction of a robot, a robot which has no idea why it was made.
A robot which has no idea what it truly is.
But one which knows it was built for a purpose.
However, it still doesn’t know exactly what its mission is…
I have no idea what Lem would have thought about this version. But it is a strange and eerie experience, taking the familiar concepts of love and robots and turning them into something unexpected.
So take a look by all means. Although don’t worry too much if it doesn’t make sense to you.
I’m not sure it was meant to…
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4 thoughts on “Maska [Mask] (2010)”