Puppetry is an art form that goes back millennia. Puppets are referenced in the ancient sacred Sanskrit epic the Mahabharata and shadow theater is still performed throughout India and southeast Asia, while its influence can be seen in the works of silhouette animators from Lotte Reiniger (The Adventures of Prince Achmed, 1926) to Michel Ocelot (Princes and Princesses, 2000). Japanese bunraku puppets have been around since the 17th century, about as long as kabuki theater, and are equally suited for the delicate conveyance of complex emotions. First documented in Samuel Pepys’s diaries of 1662 and originally aimed at adults, the hand puppet Punch and Judy shows became prominent in British culture as a form of social satire, later incorporating political commentary (as seen in the introduction of a Hitler character during World War II). These three aspects—the spiritual, the psychological, and the sardonic—combine in a program of three contemporary European stop-action animated puppet films now beginning a weeklong run at the Gene Siskel Film Center.
The second chapter revolves around a Pygmy who, after tragically losing his wife and children in a fire, is hired by the hotel as a bellhop; when things are slow, he stands in as a hall ashtray for the guests. In this second storyline, another running gag emerges: many bad things occur because of objects rolling and people falling. It’s as though gravity adds insult to the injuries inflicted by callous humans. Other chapters follow a drunken embezzler who flees with his money to the Congo; a Congolese porter who mourns the death of a friend; and an army deserter who seeks a new start in Africa. What’s astonishing is how much emotion the puppets’ fuzzy faces and pillowy bodies convey as the characters stumble and thrash toward their destinies. These mortals are foolish, and we suspect that we, too, are but a mere slip on a banana peel away from them.
Directed by Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels. In French, Dutch, Aka, and Maninka, with English subtitles. 45 min.
Oh Willy . . . ★★★ Directed by De Swaef and Roels. 17 min.
The Burden ★★★★ Directed by Niki Lindroth von Bahr. In Swedish with English subtitles. 15 min.
Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, 312-846 2800, siskelfilmcenter.org, $11.
