Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
In 2015, Christopher Nolan curated a selection of short films by the surrealist animators the Quay Brothers to be distributed as a touring 35mm presentation. The three films—"In Absentia" (2000), "The Comb" (1991) and "Street of Crocodiles" (1986)—were accompanied by this brief portrait of the brothers at work in their London studio.
Quay is a brief documentary portrait of the Brothers Quay, twin surrealist animators whose stop-motion work is genuinely singular and visually extraordinary. Cinematography earns a 4 because the film captures their handcrafted, dust-laden miniature worlds with rare intimacy and tactile beauty. Novelty is equally high — the Brothers Quay occupy a wholly unique niche in animation history, and this film reflects that distinctiveness. However, as a short documentary companion piece, its plot structure is minimal and its ending arrives without much resolution or cumulative weight, keeping both categories at 2. Acting is not really applicable in the traditional sense, rating modestly given the fly-on-the-wall observational style.