Review of Picnic with Weissmann

"Picknick with Weismann" was a very early work in the career of Jan Svankmajer, and compared to other shorts he had made prior to this one might expect a little more than what is offered here. The eleven-minute film contains little plot, hardly any premise, and the premise there is is there mostly so the filmmaker can demonstrate and show off his stop-motion skills. As always, these skills are very impressive, but they do not cater to create that truly unique world one accustoms himself to when watching a Svankmajer movie because they are not put to the proper environment. The setting is standard, and hardly a fantasy world; the action is simple and does not create anything more than some neat animation gags.

The short sees a group of inanimate objects doing various things in an outdoor setting. There is a suit eating fruit in a rather clever way, a record playing on a record player, chairs messing around, and a shovel digging a hole. All of this is the type of inanimate moving objects stuff I myself have done previously in numerous animation clips (albeit not as elaborate), and it was entertaining even if it did get old when expanded to eleven minutes - but when the twist at the end came, I realized it was all worth it. Svankmajer's premise was weaker than others, and while containing some excellent tricks was not nearly as engaging, but his payoff was great and I would say it's definitely worth a look.