Polaris_DiB The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes is the Quay brothers' second feature-length film, and to be sure, it is a real beauty. It is probably most comparable to "Le Cite des les Enfants Perdus" as a fantasy feature film that creates its own fairy-tale space in ways much more viscerally beyond the level of typical fantasy; the very air is saturated with the sense of the Otherworldly and the magical, and it's obvious the Quays are working off of a lot of influences from mythology and fairy tales....and it's also not nearly as good as their short film animations, partly because it's not an animation. They do mix animation and live-action well, quite well, in this movie, but what The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes lacks more than any other film of theirs I've seen is the gut-reaction most of their shorts give. It is infinitely visually pleasing, but it doesn't have the power to awe or disturb the way their other work does.The reason? As best as I can tell, the movement. There's something eerie and uncanny about the ways the brothers Quay craft actual motion, but so much animation was cut out of this (reportedly, enough to make another feature-length) and left to the live-action that it just doesn't send off the same tone. They also make it worse by constantly fading out in the middle of shots. That approach is explained as an attempt to bring the viewer into a moment of high drama, and then cut the light (something evil Dr. Droz literally does in the movie), but it tends to disappoint the viewer that just wants to revel in the strong visuals.I do really like the plot-point about the ants and the spores, and its re-occurrence later in the narrative. If the rest of the film had the power of that point, it would have been truly unforgettable.I still consider the brothers Quay to be spectacular film artists and amazingly unique creative minds, and I'll bet their further feature-length work will be even better. However, The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes is a surprisingly forgettable film.--PolarisDiB

greg_machlin "The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes" is a strange and wonderful dark fairy tale about a piano tuner sent to a mysterious island to assist a malevolent conductor who's keeping an opera singer captive; the conductor wants the tuner to fine tune and repair several large, mechanical, complex Joseph-Cornell like boxes. But the boxes are not what they seem… I agree with those who felt "Institute Benjamenta" (the brothers' first full-length film) was boring--it is--but The Brothers Quay have improved by leaps and bounds with this film. The narrative is significantly easier to follow & figure out than, say, "Mulholland Drive"; in fact, I'd even say it's more straightforward than executive producer Terry Gilliam's own "12 Monkeys" (for a start, it's linear). Everything said about the images is true; Nic Knowland's cinematography and the Quay Brothers' own production design is superb.So don't be put off by the reviews saying "Piano Tuner" doesn't make any sense; this is in fact a straightforward movie if you're paying close enough attention. Anyone who likes David Lynch, Gilliam, or Jeunet & Caro needs to see it. It's also one of the best films of the year.

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.

gabriele de benedittis Every single appearance in this magical world pretends to have a meaning. Maybe it has, maybe not, that makes no difference. It's just a dependency, an intimate relation which chains you at the screen, forgiving you, still busy in wondering who and why... it embraces you in a cozy fake world, more real than any realistic projection. The discounted love story plot is just a background for the astonishing images and sounds, artificial and natural visions, insane but familiar feelings which make this hours pregnant. Erotism is driving the puppets (aka all of them, the characters) straight into their toy alcove, still standing on the edge of perversion and passion. You'll love these dropped confetti, if you're in a receptive state of mind.