Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

onefursorrow When I first picked this film up I was intrigued at the basic idea and eager to see what would happen. I'm a fan of animation and love it when it's successfully merged with live action footage. However, the animation in this film was about all I enjoyed. Although it must be said that the actors' performances were excellent. The visual look - including the animation - gave a wonderfully unnerving air to the piece. However this was quality of unease was lost amongst the overblown imagery, both visual and in the script, that you were practically hammered over the head with. Most annoying about this was the relative lack of importance to the plot. It seemed that the plot was shoe horned in at irregular intervals giving a stuttering effect that detracted massively from the flow of the piece. The voice overs from Felisberto - especially the one at the end - very much felt like a desperate attempt to fill in gaping holes in the plot which had been ignored in favour of side issues such as the whole ant thing (and even that wasn't properly addressed). I'm afraid the whole piece came across as, at best, a 'reasonable first attempt', by a teenager who has spent far too much time reading DH Lawrence. Not what you expect from seasoned film makers at all.

Dustin Luke Nelson The credits rolled and I sat staring, the afterimage of a burning white face and bench buried in the snow still resonating in my eyes. I was sure if I was blown away, confused, enraged or all three. The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes is riddled with problems: the unnecessarily overbearing voice-over exposition during the first forty minutes, the thin plot lines in the opening five minutes. The Quay Brothers seem to not be entirely sure what this film is about, I don't get the sense that there was a mastermind behind this warped world, like I do while watching Mulholland Drive. That said, it is a very interesting film and, if for no other reason, this is a film that should be seen for being one of the most beautifully shot films of the last five years. The dried color palette, the hazy, dream-like quality of the main character's POV and the stop motion animation all combine to create a film rich in texture and beauty. It seems that The Brothers Quay, though maybe not the most talented of writers (this, I believe being only their second feature length as compared to stacks of rich short films), they are certainly masters of the medium visually. It's an intense, droning, paced film. It's slow and garbled. But it's beautiful.

chris-4390 Of all the reviews I've read before seeing this movie, I would have thought that Quay brothers had made a real sleeper of a movie. After seeing the movie however, I realize that more of the critics of this movie would have better spent their time at a $.25 peep show instead of an art-house movie. They would have gotten their satisfaction in far less time and wouldn't have had all that messy metaphor to deal with. Not to mention, instead of giving credit to the Quay's, many critics have tried to describe what other book or movie it feels like. While there are undoubtedly similarities to other works, this is pure Quay.This movie is brilliant, passionate and a pleasure to the eyes and emotions. The trademark Quay animations, digital effects and intricately designed sets are a smörgåsbord for the senses.My vote of 9 instead of a perfect 10 was due to some of the storyline holes that were never properly filled in. None the less, this is a great film and is very watchable in spite of a few minor flaws.

hdbarton-1 This is not a movie for people who do not know a great deal, and people who are not willing to think - the authors, whoever they are, made a great film, but not for people who do not like to work their brains - the Heros of the story are Dr. Droz, and Assumpta. In the end, Assumpta becomes Dr. Droz, as the assumption of the movie is that all enlightened people are spiritually one. The puppet is that part of Assumpta that was not quite enlightened, and the tree she cuts down represents all the unenlightment in her life found in her friends and herself - when she finally becomes one with all the other enlightened people in the world (at the end of the movie), we see her looking in upon the lives of the piano tuner, and Malvina, who represent people who have tried to be enlightened, but gave up forever, and are now being used by the Droz to teach the world about the fact that it is being controlled and managed by a secret organization of Enlightened Masters who are one with each other completely. There is not even a slight hint of illogic in this movie, maybe that is why you might be having a hard time understanding it - I have yet to see a comment that even gets close to grasping the profound meaning of this movie - no one has a clue, and that is too bad - you would think that a professional critic would at least have some clue as to what the movie wants to say to the thinking world!