There were plenty of reasons for wanting to see this 1959 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. One being that it is based on one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, or at least certainly one of my favourites of his. Two is that it is stop-motion/puppet animation and there are some fine examples of that style in film etc. The more seen of Jiri Trnka, an unfamiliar director to me until recently via this and 'The Emperor's Nightingale', the more he and his work fascinated me.
'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is to me one of his best, 'Bajaja' being another favourite, and because of it being such a well known story it is one of his most accessible. A good thing for anybody who had not connected with some of his other films, with some finding some of his films too on the slow side and finding the unfamiliarity of the language being a problem, and yet to see this. 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is truly great and very enchanting, as well as a very welcome distraction through a difficult time in many ways.
Do agree that the narration doesn't entirely work. Can understand why it was included, to make it accessible for a wider audience, and it is beautifully delivered, but it was pretty talk heavy and interrupted the flow at times. For such a well known story and because the visuals alone tell the story, it wasn't always needed.
However, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a visual masterpiece and one of Trnka's best looking films. The Enchanted Forest backgrounds and the vivid atmosphere the colours evoke make for some of the most beautiful and bordering on miraculous visuals Trnka ever did and the photography enhances them spectacularly. Personally thought that the characters looked fine and not rough or stiff. The music has a nice whimsy and folksy beauty.
Furthermore, the heart, charm, humour and magic of the play are never lost. The humour sparkles, has wit and never comes over crudely, the characters are charming and fun, it is easy to care for the characters' situations and invest in those situations and the magic is in the production design and colourful atmosphere alone. The Pyramus and Thisbe sequence is delightful here and warmed my heart, which is not always the case with this sequence. Any omissions do not harm things at all or make the pace jump about too much.
While the story is a complicated one, it doesn't feel incoherent and despite it being unmistakably Czech it doesn't lose Shakespeare's spirit at the same time. The characters are well delivered and true to character, the funny characters genuinely amuse and are full of personality (without unbalancing things) and the lovers are not passive or personality-free.
Concluding, great and one of Trnka's best. Very fascinating if one wants to see Shakespeare done in a different language and style. 9/10.
