In a momentous cinematic event, the Quay Brothers are returning with their first feature since 2005. Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, a stop-motion / live-action endeavor inspired by the works of Jewish-Polish author and artist Bruno Schulz, was acquired by KimStim, with a theatrical release beginning on August 29 at Film Forum. With the film presented by Christopher Nolan, a longtime fan of the brothers, we’re delighted to exclusively unveil the new trailer and poster for what recently topped our list of must-see August releases.
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass first premiered as an Official Selection: Giornate degli Autori at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival. Here’s the synopsis: “The first feature in 20 years by animation masters The Quay Brothers is inspired by the writings of Polish author Bruno Schulz. In a mixture of live action and breathtakingly intricate stop-motion puppetry, the Quays follow the journey of Josef, who arrives at a labyrinthine sanatorium in search of his dying father. Told in seven chapters corresponding with seven prophetic, mystical viewing lenses, the film bends objects, time, and dimensions as Josef navigates the realm between dreams and reality.”
Oliver Weir said in our BFI London review, “This structural inside-outness is due in part to the film’s visual style, which, as with much of the Quays’ work, is rooted in German Expressionism. Every texture, every movement, every melody is suffused with weight and symbolism, and the characters are entirely subordinate to these elements: they have no internal state, no sense of being separate from their surroundings; everything they think or feel is externalized in the intricate sets, in the distorted shadows and monosyllabic close-ups, in the calligraphic swirls of smoke, and in the silver shimmer of their blurred faces. It is a haunting effect similar to the mood of Kafka’s The Castle in that it instills in every moment a pervasive ambiguity, an existential dislocation, which is never resolved and which never abates.”
See the exclusive trailer and poster below.
