Short of the Week: Marcell Jankovics’ take on the myth of Sisyphus
Modern animation has made a lot of strides, evident in the mastery displayed by recent projects such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. While a lot of young artists are going for the maximalist approach to create the kind of spectacle contemporary audiences have come to expect from high-budget blockbusters, animation doesn’t always need opulent extravagance to work. One person who proved that was the iconic Hungarian artist Marcell Jankovics.
Within Jankovics’ illustrious filmography, one particularly interesting work is a 1974 animated short called Sisyphus. Based on the widely known mythology of the titular figure who was cursed for eternity by Hades, Jankovics uses an extremely minimalist technique of dark strokes against a white background to recreate the horrifying allegory. It completely disrupts the aesthetic frameworks that we have grown used to, demonstrating that a single line is enough to spark the human imagination if it is handled by a great artist.
During a conversation with Cartoon Brew in 2015, Jankovics explained his disappointment with modern animation: “I rarely watch animated films anymore, but in my domestic and festival experiences, every generation seems to produce works of similar quality. The two great differences between then and now are the digital revolution and far less government support for animation. Although I use it, I don’t like digitalisation. I hate 3D.”
He even claimed that he preferred the old, arduous methods of production: “Despite all the technical miracles and devices, and the relatively easy way of working nowadays, I don’t envy the youth of today. They barely have the chance to make independent films. I am from the old school: I prefer the old studio system. The old Pannonia Film Studio was a fantastic community. I believe in teamwork, and that was the basis of the success of our films.”
Sisyphus is enough proof that the old ways work, constructing an unusual experience that captures the essence of the modern condition. Although the Sisyphean struggle has been explored by many great figures ranging from Albert Camus to the Coen brothers, Jankovics strikes at the very centre of the allegory by using this stark style. In addition to the interesting visuals, the film is accompanied by a soundtrack made up of the haunting grunts of a suffering man.
“My mother told me, after seeing Sisyphus, ‘Son, you will never make another film as good as this one,’ and she was right,” Jankovics admitted in the same interview. “That said, one shouldn’t compare a short with a series or a full-length film.” Of course, he achieved many other fascinating things with his subsequent projects, Sisyphus will always occupy a very special place when he we look back at the trajectory of his filmmaking career.
Watch the film below.
