A Chairy Tale

In the realm of international avant-garde cinema, the 1957 film A Chairy Tale, co-directed by Norman McLaren and Claude Jutra, is a stark departure from anything that can be recognized as ordinary or conventional. While it doesn't rely on conventional storytelling methods in its approach, it meticulously weaves an intricate tale that engages its audience through its uniqueness and creativity.

A Chairy Tale stars Claude Jutra and is centred around a seemingly mundane object imbued with extraordinary attributes, a chair. This movie is an ambitious exploration of film methods by two groundbreaking and highly influential filmmakers. It merges live-action elements with animation, creating a groundbreaking hybrid avant-garde form of cinema that redefines film's role as a medium for storytelling and artistic expression. At a running length of roughly ten minutes, this short film has made an indelible imprint on the world of experimental cinema with its innovative and surreal treatment of an everyday reality.

The narrative revolves around a young man, played by Claude Jutra, who lawfully attempts to sit on a chair, but the seemingly ordinary piece of furniture defies his intentions. It turns out this chair is not merely a lifeless fixture but a willful entity with intentions of its own. Frustrated by his unsuccessful efforts to subdue the chair, the man undertakes a physical tug-of-war with the chair, and hence, an intriguing power dynamics ensues.

Clever cinematography supports the plot, as it manages to breathe life into the inanimate chair, which seems to dance, dart, and dodge around Jutra's character. This metamorphosis of the chair, which would usually be considered an inanimate part of the scenery, into an active participant in the narrative results in a friendly and humorous confrontation between man and object.

The film blurs the lines separating the animate and inanimate, forcing the viewer to question the nature of consciousness, existence, and agency. It speaks to the universality of struggle, turning a simple act of sitting into an epic battle of wills, and in doing so, it manages to evoke a sense of shared human experience.

A Chairy Tale incorporates an experimental fusion of images and ensemble music by Ravi Shankar that spills with character. The specific movements of the chair are so organically tied to the syncopated beats of the music that the chair goes through dramatic leaps, dips, and pirouettes, embodying an energy that is simultaneously whimsical and intense.

McLaren's signature Pixilation technique, which involves stop-motion animation of humans instead of puppets, lends a fantastical dimension to the film. Every frame in the film has been painstakingly nitpicked, allowing the filmmakers to control each movement with absolute precision, resulting in an unbearably tense yet humorous battle of wills.

Claude Jutra's performance in front of the camera is noteworthy. Despite not having a single line of dialogue, Jutra uses his physicality to communicate the character's mounting frustration and determination, establishing a connection with the audience on a visceral level.

The film's socio-political undertones are subtle but potent, drawing attention to the underlying power dynamics that exist between individuals and their environment, and by extension, the dynamics of power present in broader society. As the film progresses, the line between the oppressor and the oppressed becomes increasingly blurred, inviting viewers to consider the themes of free will, control, and resistance in fresh and innovative ways.

A Chairy Tale is not merely a film but an experience—a fantastic exploration of the boundaries of one's perception and the supposed controlled order of daily life. It is a celebration of the unpredictable, rouses a radical reinterpretation of the banal, and causes us to reconsider our relationships with the material world around us. It avows a shared understanding that not everything can be controlled or should be—and therein lies the beauty of life and cinema.

With its allegorical narrative, visual poetry, and unanticipated humour, A Chairy Tale proves that an unforgettable cinematic experience does not simply require blockbuster budgets or star-studded ensembles but simply the courage to venture beyond the boundaries of conventional expectations.