THE PIED PIPER (1986)
Starring: Oldrich Kaiser, Jirí Lábus, Michal Pavlícek & Vilém Cok
Directed by: Jirí Barta
Written by: Kamil Pixa
Story by: Robert Browning (Poem) & Viktor Dyk (Novel)
Rated: NR
Running Time: 56mins
Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Films
The film’s original Czech title is Krysař, which means “The Rat Catcher.”
The original tale of THE PIED PIPER has been told to children for many generations as a morality tale regarding the themes of honor and greed. In the hands of Czechoslovakian filmmaker Jiri Barta, however, this classic fable transforms into an unsettling lesson for adults instead. Through the art of stop-motion animation, Barta crafts a nightmarish vision that parents should recognize as far from suitable for children. For adults, though, it’s a powerful and expressive fairy tale—one that leverages its effectively disturbing imagery to strengthen its dark narrative tone. The result is a meticulously crafted and imaginative film that explores its themes with gripping intensity and creative flair.
This particular version of the tale is an interesting one. The story is set in a medieval town inhabited mostly by corrupt individuals. Obsessed with making money and hiding it away, the residents are morally corrupt, gluttonous, self-centered, and selfish. Everything is measured by the mighty dollar, and women are wooed by suitors who bear gifts. When the village is overrun by a plague of rats, a hooded piper arrives and strikes a deal to rid the town of the filthy vermin. With his musical instrument in hand, the piper fulfills his end of the bargain and plays a hypnotic melody that mesmerizes the rats, leading them out of town. It’s when the townsfolk decide to withhold payment from the piper that this adaptation strays from the original tale where, as an act of revenge, the piper lures the children of the town away from their homes in the same manner he did the rats. In this version, though, there are no children present to take place in the piper’s plan, as Barta relies on a darker, more twisted ending (not to be revealed here), which, in my opinion, is more satisfying, given the dark tone of Barta’s film making for a more nightmarish movie watching experience.
The artistry at work in THE PIED PIPER is pretty incredible, as the unique imagery presented by all of the creative artists involved is fascinating to gaze upon. Heavily influenced by the style of German Expressionism and movies such as THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI, the meticulous attention to detail in the hand-carved sets and the unique puppet designs is nothing short of extraordinary. Everything has been carefully designed to enhance the unsettling atmosphere of the story being told. The sets are created with weird angles, distorted perspectives and misshapen buildings, while the characters have a unique artistic design that offers very little movement to show expression.
The film utilizes an unrecognizable type of dialogue, which is quite intriguing. Barta has chosen to have his characters communicate solely in a made-up gibberish that is never subtitled. Barta’s direction in these scenes is very clever, making sure that even though the viewer may not understand the words, they will never be at a loss for understanding what is happening. For example, in one scene near the film’s beginning, where people are bartering over the price of goods, we see money coming from the characters’ mouths to represent what is being said.
Much of the emotional impact in the film comes from a combination of sound and music. The movie features a great score by composer Michael Kocáb, which Barta effectively combines with an incredible sound design by Ivo Spalj to enhance the characters’ overall emotions while also increasing the nightmarish tone needed to help the film work its magic on the viewer.
The piper himself is an interesting character. Dressed much like a Jedi from the STAR WARS films, he is not the good-looking hero audiences usually get in these kinds of stories. He speaks only through his musical instrument, and it’s the beautiful music he plays that reveals his true inner self and makes him sympathetic to the audience.
The most fascinating character in the film is also the only person who lives in the town that seems to possess any sense of decency. She is given no name but ultimately becomes a love interest for the piper. As someone who rejects the greed and selfish nature of the town and is not interested in material possessions, she is attracted to something deeper than all of that and falls for the piper because she recognizes the beauty in his soul as expressed through the music he plays. Although she is an added element to the original story, this woman effectively adds depth to the piper as a character while also introducing a more intense conflict between him and the town. One of my favorite moments in the film is a simple one that shows the two sitting together silently, adding a bit of much-needed heart to the story.
Though THE PIED PIPER has a short runtime of only 56 minutes, Barta takes advantage of every second to infuse the story with enough creativity and ideas to fill a 90-minute feature film. Right from the film’s opening moments, it’s clear that Barta has created something unique. With its creepy imagery, violent nature, and dark themes, the film presents a uniquely stylistic approach to a familiar story. Ultimately, THE PIED PIPER is a testament to Barta’s artistic vision as a creative storyteller.
Watch THE PIED PIPER
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