With many iterations of Faust, Jan Švankmajer’s own take on the deal with the devil isn’t absolutely terrifying, and can feel bizarre, sometimes even goofy, to those unfamiliar with the animation director. However, Lekce Faust is quite creepy, as he brings the legend to modern day Prague with a mysterious map and visually disturbing puppets that brilliantly mixes live action with stop-motion and claymation into folklorish cinematic magic. It’s not the most faithful rendition of the classic tale, but it’s one of the most inventive, proving that while the deals like this pop up only in past folklore, the devil still lingers in fairly absurd ways.
A very free adaptation of Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus", Goethe's "Faust" and various other treatments of the old legend of the man who sold his soul to the devil. A nondescript man is lured by a strange map into a sinister puppet theatre, where he finds himself immersed in an indescribably weird version of the play, blending live actors, clay animation and giant puppets.
A map leads an ordinary man to find a puppet theatre inside a dilapidated building. As he explores the props and costumes, the man finds himself embroiled in a deal with the devil, and a strange production of the Faustian legend.
I mean, it is a bit presumptuous to assume all devils and demonic entities only speak Latin, but it is quite funny to hear them speak gibberish.
(translated from ancient demonic language) BLUHLUHLUHLUHLUHLUHLUH
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