30 Second Bottom Line: Topics that often address kindness or violence are depicted in a series of short films, combining live action, stop-motion, animation, clay animation, and puppetry give you plenty to think about.

Story Line: Director Jan Svankmajer, of (country), has created a retrospective of his work with this series of eight films, shown seamlessly back to back, that range from 8 to 14 minutes each. Although the time frame is short, the plots are developed so fast and fully, and actions happen so rapidly, that they have the feel of a full-length feature.

There are stories about rival magicians who fight and then make up; characters who compete for the ownership of a pet guinea-pig; and an apartment that seems to have a mind of its own when we see a light bulb break through cement.

Tell Me More About It: These fast paced stories truly maintain your attention. What you see is understandable, yet at times it’s difficult to understand what your brain is processing.

Prepare to be challenged as you are faced with new concepts. Think for a moment about seeing a person look into the bath room mirror and rather than seeing a reflection, they see the same as you see outside of the mirror. This might be hard to imagine, and imagination is the key here, but the creativity of these films leaves you with few words to describe them. They need to be seen. A picture is worth far more than a thousand words.

Footnote: Be sure to see the series of short films that cover the years 1979-1992. They build upon this early work and they are even more outstanding.