Lotte Reiniger / Germany / 1926 / 65mins
With The Artist’s recent success, the silent movie genre is going through a sudden resurgence in America. Uncomplicated plots and humanistic character traits prevent these gems from becoming dated and passé. Lotte Reiniger’s 1926 film used the revolutionary stop-motion technique with shadow puppetry to create a silent piece of cinema, generally accepted to be the world’s first feature length animation. Tricked by an evil magician, Prince Achmed is forced to leave his kingdom and embark upon an Odyssey-like adventure.
While the plot (an amalgamation of some tales from 1001 Arabian Nights) may now be somewhat clichéd, the deftly manipulated intricacies of the shadow puppets prevent the familiar narrative from losing any sense of potency. The silent, 2D, silhouetted, cardboard faces convey the same amount of expression and emotion as any of Disney or Pixar’s recent creations. The delivery method and storyline fit together so well because they allow the mind to conjure up the fantastical locations depicted on the screen and it’s this imagination inducing spirit that shines through the movie. Just as Scheherazade intended in her first recounting, these stories utilise the brains’ ability for fabrication. When combined with shadow puppetry’s sublime simplicity, it enables the audience to not just sit and wonder at a screen, but to absorb, engage and to some extent, become involved in the action.
Showing as part of the Glasgow Film Festival 2012.
A short clip of the film can be viewed here.