Au bout du fil (Cat’s Cradle)

Director: Paul Driessen
Release date: 1974
Rating: ★★★
Review:

‘Cat’s Cradle’ is an early film by Dutch animator Paul Driessen for the National Film Board of Canada.

This is one of Driessen’s most enigmatic films, in which the images seem to flow in a stream-of-consciousness-like fashion, bridged by a string spun by tiny spider. Somehow the tale, if there is one, has a retrograde character, but it’s hard to make head or tail of Driessen’s narrative in this short.

The background art again is very limited and made of monochromes, and Driessen’s typical morbid humor is very present. For example, the spider is handled by a man, who in turn turns out to hang at a gallows pole.

Watch ‘Cat’s Cradle’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Cat’s Cradle’ is available on the DVD ‘Des histoires pas comme les autres’