Review: Looking for a Monster
Although I recently advertised this on my site, I’m not going to link to the info just yet… Why? Basically because of the way I want to write the review. It’s important that I talk about the puppetry before delving into the background info. But just so you know what the hell I’m talking about:
Looking for a Monster is a half hour puppetry film produced by Gary Friedman, and it’s a story of a King who wants to fill his coffers with the bones of the old. In order to do so, he must convince the public to turn in the old people, and so he goes looking for a monster to scare the public into obedience. The public is conned and they give over their old people, but not before Death, policemen and others get involved. The story is told using a range of detailed (what I’m guessing is) papier mache/foam Czech marionettes (Czech and Sicilian marionettes are notable for having rods instead of a string at the top of the head) with simple backdrops and detailed sets. The film was shown in a small hall at the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Elsternwick.
The best way to describe the film is to cross Strings with Provenance; the design and puppets were definitely of a smaller budget than in Strings (or should I say, not as elaborate but certainly as beautiful and well done), and the storyline similar to Provenance minus the stuff about the painting. It’s not the best description, but to those who have seen either Strings or Provenance it certainly does come close enough to paint a picture for you.
Afterwards I took the opportunity to catch up with Gary - having last seen him at UNIMA 2008 (UPDATE 30 July 2009: the festival site is no longer available) in April - and was able to listen in on some discussion of the film. Neither Gary nor Rod Freedman (co-producer) had seen the film in several months, and both remarked, along with some of the others, that the film was too quick. That there was no room to breath, as Gary put it. This is indeed, my biggest criticism of the film. Even knowing the background of the play, it was hard to follow. Watching the credits at the end, I noticed that Gary provided all of the voices for the characters. Now, as much as I adore his South African accent, it is quite strong and combined with the mix of characters and accents of the puppets, it made it hard for me to understand the language. If the action of the film had been slowed down, or paced out (there was very little tempo other than ‘fast’), then it would have made things much easier to follow. Either that or the projection was quite bad at the venue.
The funny thing was that once I stopped trying to follow the dialogue or action, I started to enjoy the film much more. Instead I saw the puppets and sets, wonderfully decorated, so detailed and interesting to watch. For my personal taste, I thought the puppets ‘moved’ too much, with some actions finding flailing limbs. But the cinematography (and here I doff my cap to the director of photography… whose name eludes me and I can’t find it in any of Gary’s promos… suffice to say that I enjoyed it) and lighting were such that there were truly moments of deep emotion. Close-ups were utilised to great effect, and editing provided a lot of highlights to a character’s emotion or actions.
There were times when I wished I could see the crystal bead eyes of the puppets more clearly, but so enjoyed the fact that the blue crystals of King Illiterate the First sparkled; a glint of evil perhaps. Or when it almost missed my notice when the Wizard, decked out in a finely beaded hat, offered a seat to the King - when there was none - by picking up his own legs and resting mid air; and only realised it when the trick was done again, and gleefully my builder’s mind enjoyed how simple it is to have a marionette sit on nothing, like an invisible hammock. Or when the old person turned up in a ‘gas mask’ (like the elderly have to help them breath), and knew it had to have been custom made because of the size of the marionettes. Yes, there were minor faults with the film, but the puppetry itself is impressive.
And now we come to the background of the film. The puppet play, Looking for a Monster, was written by Hanus Hachenburg in 1943, a thirteen year old at the time. The play - with its last pages hurriedly scribbled - was tucked into the back of some papers that was in a Holocaust archive. The play stayed hidden until 1999, when Gary was visiting the archive and noticed this attachment. What makes the story remarkable is that the play was written by a boy who was in a concentration camp, and never saw the play performed. Gary took it upon himself to research the background, and later on produced a live performance of Looking for a Monster. He’s spent the last six years making this film and an accompanying documentary.
Without knowing the context of the film, one could easily remark that indeed the text and allegories are simple or that the story is mundane (what I tend to term as ‘domestic’). But it is in placing the film in this context that makes it remarkable. It’s not just the ability to give a voice to someone who may have been forgotten (the young boy was a prolific writer and poet and wrote subversively even in the camp, even so, his works may never have come to light to modern audiences); or the story of Gary’s ten-year journey to discover the playwright; or the fact that the producers go out of their way to make sure every detail fits, from the traditional music from Theresienstadt (Terezin), to the use of a female marionette for Death (in Czech, death is a feminine word) and the use of Czech marionettes; or the fact that the play itself has hidden messagery (in Czech, the initials for the King is AH, and the Sausage Sniffers, the police in the play, are SS) contained within.
It’s perhaps that the whole film has had such an impact on so many lives. Gary and fellow assistants have discovered the boy’s family members, cousins in the US. He’s found old orphanage companions and school mates; his work has allowed him to connect otherwise impossible cold leads and given us a fascinating insight into the journey of true historical investigation. Almost 70 years later, and we can hear and see and almost feel the fear, honesty and terribly intelligent voice that speaks out from a most unimaginable place. Without the context, indeed the film is almost an exercise in artistry; with it, and it is a comment on our history and our humanity.
It’s important to note that Gary and the producers are planning on selling this film and accompanying documentary as a package to schools and universities around the world. This isn’t just a brilliant idea to help younger adults learn about the Holocaust by following one person’s story in a non-threatening way, but also about teaching so many other things: the process of the discovery of the play is fascinating enough, but then you have the added benefit of learning about how the puppets were filmed and indeed the process of turning a non-English play into a live performance and then turning that performance into a film.
They’ve mentioned that people in the US are already interested in such a package, and if funding can be found, they will be finishing the doco and packaging it up at the end of the year. For those who want to help, visit the website (linked below) and either make a tax-deductible donation, or enquire as to how you can get the package to your local community.
More info can be found here, and at the official puppetry film website here, including more of Hachenburg’s writing and poetry, photos, behind-the-scenes stuff, etc. This film was screened for only the second time: previously it was shown in Sydney.
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