"The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes" is a strange and wonderful dark fairy tale about a piano tuner sent to a mysterious island to assist a malevolent conductor who's keeping an opera singer captive; the conductor wants the tuner to fine tune and repair several large, mechanical, complex Joseph-Cornell like boxes. But the boxes are not what they seem
I agree with those who felt "Institute Benjamenta" (the brothers' first full-length film) was boring--it is--but The Brothers Quay have improved by leaps and bounds with this film. The narrative is significantly easier to follow & figure out than, say, "Mulholland Drive"; in fact, I'd even say it's more straightforward than executive producer Terry Gilliam's own "12 Monkeys" (for a start, it's linear). Everything said about the images is true; Nic Knowland's cinematography and the Quay Brothers' own production design is superb.
So don't be put off by the reviews saying "Piano Tuner" doesn't make any sense; this is in fact a straightforward movie if you're paying close enough attention. Anyone who likes David Lynch, Gilliam, or Jeunet & Caro needs to see it. It's also one of the best films of the year.
I agree with those who felt "Institute Benjamenta" (the brothers' first full-length film) was boring--it is--but The Brothers Quay have improved by leaps and bounds with this film. The narrative is significantly easier to follow & figure out than, say, "Mulholland Drive"; in fact, I'd even say it's more straightforward than executive producer Terry Gilliam's own "12 Monkeys" (for a start, it's linear). Everything said about the images is true; Nic Knowland's cinematography and the Quay Brothers' own production design is superb.
So don't be put off by the reviews saying "Piano Tuner" doesn't make any sense; this is in fact a straightforward movie if you're paying close enough attention. Anyone who likes David Lynch, Gilliam, or Jeunet & Caro needs to see it. It's also one of the best films of the year.