Svetlonos (2005) User Reviews

The Burden Of The Sun King.

[meddlecore · 7/10 · 6 October 2020]

Vaclav Svankmajer (son of stop motion legend Jan Svankmajer) has been passed the torch, as he continues on the legacy of Czech stop motion animation, like his father, before him.

The Torchbearer- which took him 5 years to complete- combines horror and fantasy with medieval legend and influences from video games, into a short gnostic masterpiece that is well worth the 25 minutes it takes to watch.

It begins with a knight entering the castle of the moon, on a quest to become the next Sun King.

In order to do so, he must pass a series of trials, which are carried out by a group of statuesque women.

Even if they are mostly illusory, he manages to get lucky...and make it through to the chamber of the sun, to take his place on the throne.

Though, he must give his life, in order to keep the universe in motion.

For such is the nature of the Sun King's fate.

That is, until the next one comes around...during which the cycle begins all over again.

7.5 out of 10.

An extraordinarily atmospheric animation

[Rheinische · 10/10 · 25 August 2006]

On finding out that this film is the creation of Jan Švankmajer's son, Václav, one could be forgiven for expecting a derivative imitation of his father's pioneering stop-motion animation style. However, 'The Torchbearer' acquits itself as a major and distinctive work in its own right, arguably the greatest sub-30-minute film of 2005. Visually, it is in a more 'classical' vein than any of Švankmajer Sr's messy and visceral shorts: the film follows the passage of an austere and silent figure in Greco-Roman armour through a castle resembling one of Piranesi's imaginary prisons, and inhabited by female statues who come to life and watch from the shadows (I won't go into the further details here, since I couldn't do them justice anyway). Both the structure and the imagery of the film seem to invite possible allegorical readings: temporal cycles, the rise and fall of kings, the martial invasion of a matriarchal space, etc. (although the absence of dialogue leaves things uncertain).

The models are crisp and realistic, and sound is put to haunting use: creaking pulleys, the clank of metal on stone, unidentified subterranean rumbling. In fact, if 'The Torchbearer' resembles anything, it is the Quay Brothers' sombre 'Street of Crocodiles' (itself Švankmajer-inspired), although one can see that the filming technology has moved on in the intervening twenty years. This film deserves to be seen not only by Švankmajer/Quay enthusiasts, but anyone who remains sceptical about the power of animation to create genuinely 'dark' environments that rival live-action productions. I saw it amongst other shorts (both hand-drawn and CGI) at an animation festival, but it made everything else seem weak by comparison. Unfortunately I doubt this will reach much beyond the orbit of the international festival circuit, and Václav's father's name may be more of a hindrance than a help to him, but I would recommend keeping an eye out for it.

Perhaps a Different Culture

[Hitchcoc · 5/10 · 15 June 2019]

I know that there are some poignant moments here, but all I saw was a depressed guy sitting in a corner feeling sorry for himself. Of course, Buddhism is about introspection and seeing the world in a new and different way. Perhaps I will revisit this at some future time.