Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass

The Quay Brothers adapt Bruno Schulz as a son's phantom journey to a decaying sanatorium in brought to life by their signature stop-motion craft.

Twenty years after their last feature, the Quay Brothers return to the work of Polish author and visual artist Bruno Schulz (The Street of Crocodiles) for inspiration. A son's visit to his dying father begins with a phantom train ride to a decaying, otherworldly sanatorium, where he experiences seven fragmented "manifestations" of a parental entity. Applying their meticulously handcrafted, stop-motion puppet animation and musical sensibilities, along with moments of live action, they translate Schulz's metaphorical language to the screen. The "degraded" sense of reality that the filmmakers admire in the writer's work minimizes characters, narrative, and the spoken word, aspiring instead to a visualization of the metaphysical.

Presented by Academy Award Winning Filmmaker, Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer, Inception, Interstellar), Sanatorium Under The Sign Of The Hourglass is otherworldly, anti-war statement of stark, macabre beauty.

 

Bonus Materials

• The Art Teacher from Drohobycz - Bruno Schulz by the Quay Brothers (Polish Cultural Institute in London)
• Quay Brothers Q&A on stop motion animation (Courtesy Garden Cinema London)
• Theatrical introduction by the Quay Brothers
• Trailer