Jiri Trnka had/has a very good reputation in his field for very good reason. He did some amazing work, such as 'Bajaja', 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'The Song of the Prairie', 'Story of the Bass Cello' and especially his swansong 'The Hand'. And even lesser efforts such as 'The Merry Circus' and (for me) 'The Emperor's Nightingale' were still pretty impressive in many areas, to me he didn't do anything bad. 'The Chimney Sweep' did sound interesting though also sounded quite unusual for Trnka.
'The Chimney Sweep' is a very interesting effort from Trnka. It is not one of his best to me, it's not as good as any of the films mentioned in the second sentence. It is also, despite what the title suggests (which sounds like a title for a cute love story, but it is actually nothing of the sort), not one of his most accessible, not like 'Story of the Bass Cello', 'The Devil's Mill' and 'The Song of the Prairie'. 'The Chimney Sweep' is however very interesting and very good, as well as one of his boldest (very brave to do a subject like this considering the period) and most serious subject matter wise. Second only to 'The Hand'.
It isn't perfect. It is occasionally on the slow side, especially early on where it takes a little while to settle.
Also felt it was slightly on the heavy handed side, although 'The Hand' had an even heavier and ambitious subject it actually executed it more tactfully and with more atmosphere.
However, 'The Chimney Sweep' has a lot of good things. It is interesting visually, with it being one of Trnka's few forays into black and white. And very atmospheric and appropriately unsettling black and white too, while never looking cheap. In fact the character expressions and features are quite artistic. The music has rousing moments as well as ominous ones.
Moreover, the story mostly grabs the attention and even with the odd splashes of the amusing and the cute it does pull no punches with the subject and doesn't hold back. Which is going to make the viewer feel uneasy, suitably. While what 'The Chimney Sweep' has to say is not subtle, it is well-intentioned and has emotional power. The titular character is easy to be charmed by and wins one over, his courage is inspiring.
Concluding, very well done and appreciated it a lot but Trnka did do better. 8/10.
