Leonardo's Diary (1974) User Reviews

life and art imitate each other

[lee_eisenberg · 6/10 · 16 March 2016]

One of Jan Švankmajer's lesser known shorts intersperses shots of Leonardo da Vinci's famous works with scenes from real life. I interpreted "Leonardův deník" ("Leonardo's Diary" in English) to mean that life and art will tend to imitate each other. Far from Švankmajer's surreal shorts in which clay figures contort themselves, this one makes sure to establish a link with our own world. One can see Švankmajer's works as an influence on Terry Gilliam's works. Probably Švankmajer's weirdest - but no less impressive - achievement was the 2000 movie "Little Otik", based on a children's story.

Anyway, this is a pretty good short. It won't be for everyone, but I recommend it.

Homage to Leonardo de Vinci

[Tornado_Sam · 3 April 2020]

One of Czech animator Jan Svankmajer's earlier shorts, "Leonardo's Diary" is a little uncharacteristic of his later works, particularly in the basic concept and execution. Whereas Svankmajer's later works were stop-motion animation using toys, clay figures and other objects, this film relies entirely on simple hand-drawn animation and live-action. Evidently, due to the drawing style and the title, Svankmajer intended this as an homage to Leonardo de Vinci, although in a rather indirect way. Instead of a simple presentation of art, it goes for more a playful feel which is pulled off quite well.

Conceptually, the short is interesting. Rather than doing a series of animations (which he had done before in "Et Cetera"), Svankmajer uses archive footage and animated drawings in the style of the great artist to make both mediums interact with each-other. A man impresses his love by doing daring feats, a man swallows cannonballs, etc. - all pulled off through cutting between live-action and animation. It is an idea I have done myself more elaborately, and while there is not always a strong connection between the actions in both sometimes, it tends to work nicely overall. The score, which goes well with the visuals, is an upbeat and fun fanfare which brings everything to life. Not outstanding compared to others but fairly enjoyable and well-executed, typical of Svankmajer.