This Unnameable Little Broom

Brothers Quay, UK 1986, 11 minutes

A self-contained, if rather obscure film which is nonetheless outstandingly skilled and imaginative. Loosely inspired by the Epic of Gilgamesh, the film transforms the story into a macabre tale told with grotesque models and a theatrical mise en scène in which savage, vindictive machines whirr, slice, decapitate and imprison the unwary. It has the cold articulation of malignancy and evil commonly associated with the horrific fantasies of children's stories and games.

Review by BFI Shorts Catalogue
Taken from EUFS Programme 1997-98