The Wolf House
(La Casa Lobo, Joaquín Cociña, Cristóbal León, Chile/Germany 2018, 75 min., Spanish and German w/subtitles)
Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León’s new film is an astounding experiment in stop-motion animation. Produced and shot during a dozen different residencies at art spaces around the world, the directors worked in full-size models and painted rooms, constructing and deconstructing as they filmed. Ultimately, the body of the film appears to be a single shot, guiding us through the story of a young girl who runs away from her community—only to fall into a wondrous and nightmarish adventure isolated in a house in the woods, under ever-constant fear of the wolf outside. Drawing comparisons to Jodorowsky, Svankmejer, and the Quay brothers, the film uses sculpture, engineering, forced perspective, mise-en-scène and a keen awareness of camera placement and movement to create a multidisciplinary masterpiece.