London Breeze’s ‘Summer Breeze’ programme in support of Refugee Week is nearly here, starting with The Walk, directed by Tamara Kotevska (Honeyland), at 6:30pm on the 17th of June at the Ritzy Picturehouse in Brixton. The screening includes a puppetry demonstration by our special guests, the renowned Little Angel Theatre, who will shed some light on the incredible mastery of skills puppetry involves, and how such dedication to the craft helped to tell the story of Syrian refugee children in The Walk. The film follows Amal, a 12-foot-tall puppet resembling a young girl, on a transformative and at times perilous journey from Syria, across Europe, until she finds a place to call home. Amal represents the many young unaccompanied refugees who are separated from their families and homes and must travel great distances to find them again.
Puppets throughout history were- and are- often created as children’s toys. Children in turn bring them to life with their vivid imaginations, which makes the Amal puppet the perfect symbol for the plight of Syrian refugee children. She is made in the image of a young girl, like a much larger version of a puppet or doll that a child might play with. A young girl just like Asil, who lends her voice to Amal in the film. Her giant size reflects the catastrophic scale of the Syrian refugee crisis- the huge number of people displaced from their homes and separated from their families. At the same time, Amal is a symbol for hope and change and adds a magical fairytale quality to The Walk, and the strength and resilience of the Syrian people forced out of their homeland seems to give her power.
When you think of the various forms of storytelling that have existed throughout history, film is relatively new. Puppetry, on the other hand, has been around in one way or another for centuries. Combining an ancient form of storytelling with the language of cinema can make for enchanting, whimsical and magical scenes and can be a tool for bridging the gap between reality and fantasy in film. Puppets may be bound by string or limited to the movements performed by their operators, but they act as a gateway to worlds of make-believe, unbound by the rules of realism. Puppetry and Film can achieve things together that would not be possible with just one or the other.
In honour of our upcoming screening of The Walk, here are some more films that feature puppets:
Puppets are a common tool in comedy, from satire to the more absurd. For example, Team America: World Police uses marionette puppets for all of its characters. Their wide-eyed expressions, jerky movements, visible strings, and mouths that don’t sync with their voices all create a perfect storm of silly humour. This silliness also adds levity to the darker themes in the film, which deal with the corruption of world governments and the USA’s misguided self-belief and obsession with firearms.
In Tornado, directed by John Maclean and opening in cinemas on the 13th June, a Samurai and his daughter Tornado have a travelling puppet show that plays a key role in the film. The show is reminiscent of a Punch and Judy puppet theatre but incorporates traditional Samurai fighting styles and Japanese folklore. The puppets represent Tornado’s split sense of identity, being torn between Japan and Scotland. When the puppet show is damaged, it is as if Tornado’s connection to her Japanese roots is severed.
Another example of puppetry in film that stood out in my memory is the ‘lonely goatherd’ scene in The Sound of Music. In the scene, Maria and the children act out a song in the style of traditional Austrian music using marionette puppets of a host of characters. The puppets bring a sense of playfulness and joy to the scene- Maria and the children clearly having so much fun with the puppets that I remember wanting to interact with them as a child too, to help bring those funny looking people and hat-wearing goats to life.
Pinocchio is probably the first character that people think of when they hear ‘puppet,’ and a perfect example of puppetry and film coming together, as the Pinocchio adaptations by Disney and more recently Guillermo Del Toro are both animated depictions of a puppet, using classical 2D and stop-motion animation to bring the audience into a magical world in which an inanimate puppet can come to life. Pinocchio’s transformation into ‘a real boy’ frees him from his shackles and limitations. Puppetry in this story is a metaphor for being controlled, manipulated, or not being able to think for oneself.
In The Star Wars films, Yoda being a puppet in the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy allows the audience to see him as an old and otherworldly creature. His hand-made, clumsy quality is endearing and makes the audience feel affection towards him. He is a powerful and wise Jedi master, but his little shuffling walk gives him a ‘cute’ factor that rendering him in CGI- in my opinion- failed to do in the prequel trilogy. As a puppet, Yoda is tangible and tactile, with flaws that make him seem vulnerable despite his super Jedi strength. Although he is not the most ‘realistic,’ he seems full of life thanks to the work of Frank Oz, the human behind Yoda.
Of course we cannot talk about puppetry in film without mentioning Jim Henson, whose creations in Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The Muppets, Fraggle Rock and Sesame Street were so innovative, and surely inspired many future puppeteers. The way in which he imbues each puppet with a distinct personality and voice is impressive and always entertaining.
Puppetry is an enduring form of art and storytelling because it works for anyone, no matter what language they speak. The language of puppets is universal. They can lend films a more interactive spirit and present audiences with complex themes in an adventurous, fantastical way.
