With a title that means "Penis Mouse" that features a stick figure mouse with an impressively present appendage which causes problems for him in a society of covering such things up, this film is reportedly one that was made in 1957 but never shown. It was reportedly recovered and restored by the Polish Film Club and released online. It features the fourth wall of the film cell being broken, frantic animation, mice shaking while opening fire with a gun and many other touches that to my unskilled and ignorant eye, look very much like the work of someone in 2014 trying to create something in the style of 1950's Eastern European animation.
To put this on one side for the moment, the short animation is quite enjoyable in how odd it is; yes it is graphic in the animation so not safe for work, but it is amusing portrayed even though ultimately it feels excessive in what it is trying to do. The message about censorship and state control is not particularly well done, which again makes me think that the goal of the film was not that message (as it may have been in 1957) but rather the goal of the film is to try to appear to have a message that would have been relevant in that period and place.
This brings me back to the feeling that this is not what it claims to be. I don't feel like I've "been had" because my viewing experience of the film would not have been different had it been made 55 years ago or 55 days ago; after all Fargo suggested it was something it was not (a true story) and that didn't prevent it being a great film. I am curious about the origins of the short but to me the film itself is only the first creation – the fictional back-story and historical context is also a creation and unfortunately for me, I really struggled as the film went on, not to be distracted more and more by how unlikely it all seemed.
To put this on one side for the moment, the short animation is quite enjoyable in how odd it is; yes it is graphic in the animation so not safe for work, but it is amusing portrayed even though ultimately it feels excessive in what it is trying to do. The message about censorship and state control is not particularly well done, which again makes me think that the goal of the film was not that message (as it may have been in 1957) but rather the goal of the film is to try to appear to have a message that would have been relevant in that period and place.
This brings me back to the feeling that this is not what it claims to be. I don't feel like I've "been had" because my viewing experience of the film would not have been different had it been made 55 years ago or 55 days ago; after all Fargo suggested it was something it was not (a true story) and that didn't prevent it being a great film. I am curious about the origins of the short but to me the film itself is only the first creation – the fictional back-story and historical context is also a creation and unfortunately for me, I really struggled as the film went on, not to be distracted more and more by how unlikely it all seemed.
