175) Down in the Cellar (1983)

Director
Jan Švankmajer

Cast

Monika Belo-Cabanová - Little girl
Ol'ga Vronská - Washer woman
Aleksandr Letko - Man with candy

After sitting through the horror comedy "Leprechaun" and the seven nonsensical films that followed, I wanted to get to something meaningful, deep, and worthy of attention. 

A year or two ago, while employed at a local library, I managed to find an interlibrary loan DVD of short films by Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer.

I stumbled upon Švankmajer a couple years ago while watching a YouTube video that showcased ten strange and unusual films, or something like that. It was one of those top ten videos. This video presented one of his films called "Virile Games" also known as "Mužné hry" or "Male Games." It's a live action/ stop motion short film from 1988. I wouldn't do it any justice if I tried describing this film. It just needs to be seen. Švankmajer describes himself as a surrealist, and it shows in his films like "Virile Games."

But it spurred me to look into his other works, many of which are available on YouTube. So, I did. 

It wasn't until later that I looked to see if his films are available on DVD. 

Švankmajer is a surrealist film maker whose works can be whimsical, unsettling, nightmarish, profound, reflective or relatable, intriguing, and humorous. 

He uses a variety of art forms such as clay, puppetry, cutout figures, random objects, and actors to make his movies. What's even more impressive is that when he uses live actors, he'll often animate them through stop-motion techniques. His short film "Breakfast" which is part of his three-part "Food" film series is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. And when I say "impressive" I mean that sincerely. Other film makers such as Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton have taken inspiration from Jan Švankmajer. 

He's made films, both short and feature length, from the 1960s up to 2018's feature film "Insects" being the last title I can find of his.

On top of these artforms, he's a master at editing and the use of sound effects. Most of his films have no dialogue. In these cases, communication is done through visuals. It's amazingly effective and so meticulously constructed! His style fits all elements masterfully together into films that are strange, unforgettable, and simply remarkable. 

The two-disc DVD set I found through the library was "The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer." It includes 14 of his films including "The Fall of the House of Usher" based on the story by Edgar Allen Poe, "A Game with Stones," "Et Cetera," "Punch and Judy," "The Flat," "Death of Stalinism in Bohemia," and "Food." 

One of these films in that set has stuck with me. I've watched it several times already on YouTube, even moments before writing this post. 

It's called "Do pivnice" or "Down in the Cellar" produced in 1983.  

Monika Belo-Cabanová in
Jan Švankmajer's short film, "Down in the Cellar."

The short centers on a little girl, played by Monika Belo-Cabanová, who reluctantly heads to the dark dirty cellar of her apartment with her basket, a flashlight, and the cellar key to fetch potatoes. 

As she heads down the apartment stairs, an older man (Aleksandr Letko) wearing a hat and tie is walking up. The only sound in this scene are their footsteps. The man's footsteps are heavy. Hers are soft and careful. As the man passes her on the steps, the camera cuts to a closeup of her eyes wearily watching him make his way past her. Her eyes alone are shy, cautious, and curious. The man stops and turns around to look back at her with a short smile on his face. He looks inside her basket, to get a clue of what she's up to. He reaches and pulls out a piece of candy from behind her ear. But she's not having any of it and runs down the steps. 

A washer woman (Ol'ga Vronská) is scrubbing the floor at the bottom of the steps and looks up at her as if to say, "where do you think you're going?" 

Seeing that the girl has a cellar key, this woman nods in approval and lets her pass. 

When the girl reaches the top step down to the cellar, a black cat with golden yellow eyes is laying on the bottom step looking up at her, just daring her to pass. 

As she slowly moves towards the door, one cautious step at a time, the cat runs into the cellar. 

From there, the girl's fears and imagination take hold. There's a part where she finds both the man and woman she just encountered living down in separate parts of the cellar amongst the coal. It's a strange scene, and one that could easily be inspired by a fever dream, or childhood fear. She watches the man brush his teeth and get ready to sleep as he lays down in a bed of coal. His niche in the basement is set up like a makeshift bedroom. 

He covers himself with coal like it's his bedsheet. But he sits back up and looks at the girl, gesturing for her to come in and rest as well. He points to a crib against the wall and invites her to use it. 

As she backs up, shaking her head, she turns to see the same woman as before in another niche made up to look like a kitchen. 

This woman is using the coal to make pastries. That is, she cracks two eggs and adds a little water to a bowl full of ground up coal. She mixes it to create a "dough" and then starts to knead it. Then she cuts out circles in this black dough to make biscuits. It's a surreal, unsettling and haunting scene. 

Ol'ga Vronská in "Down in the Cellar."

The absence of dialogue contributes to that dreamlike feel. 

I think the reason this short film clicks with me is because it reminds me of the basement in my boyhood home. Our basement was partially subterranean as my house was built on the side of a hill. Part of the basement had an unfinished dirt area. The rest of it was dusty, dark, and packed with stuff...like normal basements. It was a part of the house that scared me, and to this day, I still have dreams about it. My younger self can relate to this young girl and her imagination.

In an interview with the International Film Festival in Rotterdam, Švankmajer said, "Dreams play a big role in my life. Dreams play a big role in the life of any surrealist. Of course, they are also reflected in my films." 

Everything in the cellar has its attention on this little girl, even the lid of the potato bin. The black cat is also following her around, giving the impression that it's the mastermind behind the girl's active imagination.

And it ends on a chilling note, at least through the eyes of a young child. 

When finally leaving the cellar, she trips over the cat as it sits on the steps waiting for her to stumble, and all the potatoes fall out of her basket and go rolling back into the cellar. 

It's as though the cat knowns her fears and is there, like a demon, keeping her from escaping the darkness of the cellar. She stares back into the darkness before heading back into the cellar to gather up the potatoes. And that's when it ends. 

The young actress playing the little nameless girl conveys her anxieties and determination effectively through her eyes and mannerisms. 

She's very meticulous about where she stands and aware of what's around her. Švankmajer includes shots of her feet standing on the edge of the stairs, frozen in place with trepidation before she ventures forth. He uses stop motion animation to portray her fears. She doesn't cry or scream. Rather she takes pauses to compose herself and build up her confidence before continuing. In one instance, she takes a moment to stare at her reflection in a dusty old mirror, and then sticks her tongue out at herself.  

The lighting is primarily from her flashlight, although other scenes definitely demand more lighting. 

Švankmajer is careful in the execution of this short film. The imagery has staying power in the audience's memory. Like other Švankmajer films, "Down in the Cellar" makes an impression. 

While this short film depicts horror elements - namely, fear - it's a stretch to call it a horror movie. A horror movie as I understand it attempts to inflict fear into its audience. "Down in the Cellar" is about fear. It's easy to imagine ourselves in the girl's place. The premise, animation, and simplicity make it that much more of an effective film. It's a masterpiece of a short movie.