Madame Tutli-Putli (2007) User Reviews

Madame Tutli-Putli is imagination run amok for an acquired taste

[tavm · 6/10 · 23 January 2008]

Madame Tutli-Putli is one of five Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short of 2007. I saw this Canadian effort on a link from Cartoon Brew. It basically tells, in silent form with luminous musical scoring throughout, a story of a young woman with plenty of baggage, both literally and figuratively, on a train as it travels during the day and night with other people and insects who may or may not be figments of her imagination. I admired many of the images and the way various cuts and movements were made yet there was a confusing air that wasn't entirely satisfied by the end. It's obviously supposed to be dreamlike in a kind of abstract quality but that wasn't enough for me to think this was one of the best animated efforts of the previous year. Still, it was certainly unique so on that note, I'd recommend Madame Tulti-Putli to anyone with a real sense of imagination.

So visually stunning that the story is practically insignificant!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 4 February 2008]

This is one of the most visually striking short films I have ever seen. In fact, I was stunned by the animation style that I immediately checked around the internet to try to determine HOW they did this film. One claimed they were puppets with real sets but I couldn't get much more about it--and I really hope they release a film showing how they made it. The film is so unique, so beautiful and such an artistic triumph that you really cannot appreciate the look of the film until you see it for yourself. In light of this, I am not at all surprised that it's been nominated for an Academy Award--we'll just have to wait and see if it wins.

As for the story, it's best described as confusing and practically insignificant. It's as if the film is an artist's pallet and you watch and absorb the film--meaning and significance are really up to the beholder. Other than it's obvious Madame Tutli-Pulti has gotten on a very strange and surrealistic train, I really am not sure what it was all about and that, for once, is okay with me. You just have to see it to believe it.

UPDATE---This is the day before the Oscars are announced for 2008 and I just got back from a special screening by our local film society of all five films nominated in the category of Best Animated Short Film. This film was among the five and I was surprised that my reaction to the film differed, somewhat, the second time. First, on a big screen, Madame and the other characters were significantly uglier and creepier, though the sets and effects were still amazing. Second, the story was still weird and incomprehensible! I predict that although this film is very different and likable, it probably won't win the Oscar as "Même les pigeons vont au paradis" and "Moya lyubov" were among the nominees and seemed like better films.

ANOTHER UPDATE--2/24/08--The Oscar was just announced and the winner in this category was PETER & THE WOLF.

visually haunting

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 18 July 2016]

Madame Tutli-Putli and her many luggage board a train. She is alone among many strangers. She's sitting opposite a crude former tennis star. The train stops to wait for another passing train. Three mysterious thieves sneak on board and release sleeping gas. She wakes up into a nightmarish situation. Her luggage and the other passengers are all gone. She sees an image of someone cutting out the liver of another passenger.

This National Film Board of Canada animated short received an Oscar nomination. This is all about the visual look. The stop-motion animation looks creepy. The human eyes really make it stand out. This would be a great horror but it needs a well written story. This short is more experimental. There is a possibility of a great style for a longer film with a more compelling story.

magic

[Vincentiu · 29 August 2014]

strange option for its viewers. and real useful. because it seems not have a subject. but this fact is only a detail .because you could be one of its characters. the story is a trip in a large yard of significances, cultural references, it could have so many explanations than becomes an adventure. it is easy to describe it as a labyrinth but , after its end, you understand to be more. the great animation, the chains of details , the each gesture and the single word, the terror birth by profound ambiguity are pieces who defines it. a film for great patience and large imagination. a magic one for the feeling after its final. and for the special form of sympathy for madame Tutli - Putli.

A prime example of angst in animation

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 7 September 2013]

If you have not yet seen this short film, there's only one true piece of advice I'd like to give you for the road: When you're ready to watch, make sure your room is completely darkened and see it on a big screen if you have one. This will increase your viewing experience considerably.

Now this is truly one spooky little thing. A woman stands at a station and the the first very haunting moment happens already right before she enters the train, namely when she looks at the viewer with her haggard face which is scarred like she's some kind of fire victim, just like all the other skin we see from her.

I won't go too much into detail on the plot, but the animators did a good job with all the other creatures in the train and the way they act enigmatically adds a lot to the harrowing atmosphere. You need to experience it yourself. What is dream, what is real? The title sounds quirky, goofy to me, really like the exact opposite of what this nightmarish short-film actually is.

Stop motion mastery

[Onderhond · 9/10 · 17 October 2008]

With a name like Tutli-Putli, one can expect many things. But one will not expect the marvelous short film Lavis and Szczerbowski will present you. Though the name sounds kinda ridiculous (and is reminiscent of oddly creepy characters from children's tales), it's actually a Hindu word referencing "puppet" and "delicate women". Bet you didn't expect that.

Madame Tutli-Putli is a 17-minute, stop-motion animation short. Now, I'm a big fan of stop-motion already, but the work of both directors takes this particular field in cinema way beyond.

Looking at the credits, you'll see that both directors did a lot of the work themselves. From script to art direction to animation to sculpting, it's all very much their own blood, sweat and tears. Typical for such films (where directors are playing a key role in most aspects of the production), Madame Tutli-Putli has a very characteristic and detailed feel to it.

The most striking element of the film are the visuals, which are beyond impressive. The combination of agile camera work with the animation of the puppets is simply nutters. A lot of effort was spent on getting the lighting just right, the puppets look gorgeous and the setting just oozes detail. The visual impression reminded me of the work of Pitoff and Caro, set in a universe that could've easily been that of Les Triplettes de Belleville.

The animation itself is quite slick and solid, without losing the stop-motion feel. Another eerie detail are the eyes of the puppets, which were filmed in real life, then superposed on the puppets. They've tried a similar technique with mouths before, but never to good effect. With the eyes it works miraculously, giving the puppets that little extra bit of humanity.

Apart from the stunning visuals, the film boasts a marvelous score, starting off rather jazzy and ending in more ethereal sounds as the film progresses. It's nice to see that the same level of detail went into creating and timing the soundtrack, something which is often overlooked.

The film is short, making the story rather confusing the first time around. There is no dialog and little time to grasp the realm of Madame Tutli-Putli. The whole story develops inside the train and transcends normal storytelling by the end of the film. Personally, I liked the feel of the ending, although I haven't been able to make much sense of it so far.

If I had to name one downside, it would be the length of the film. I realize the amount of work that goes into creating a short like this is tremendous, but in the end it does feel rather short and I wouldn't have minded to sit through another solid 40 minutes of Madame Tutli-Putli.

This short is a marvel in the realm of stop-motion film. A true milestone project that will hopefully keep the genre alive. Sadly, it's another short film and no full length feature, but hopefully this film might give Lavis and Szczerbowski the funding to create a feature film in the near future. Definitely recommended, 4.5*/5*

great style, loses pace by the end

[dromasca · 7/10 · 17 January 2008]

This short animated movie shows has style and impressive graphics. Characters are modeled on real actors who are credited and this gives personality to each of them. Using real filmed eyes (as I understand) also helps to create a very striking effect.

There is no story really here, but just a fragment of life and fantasy located in the 30s in a train trip in the immense Canadian landscape that somehow slides into mystery, imagination and dreams. It works well for the first 12-13 minutes out of the 17 of the movie, but somehow the whole stuff gets tired and not that I expected a conclusion but I felt the ending is inconclusive not from the story-telling but from an artistic point of view. Anyway, the folks who made this movie are real artists and trying their talent on a longer and more consistent film could be an interesting proposal.

An incredible film

[johno-21 · 9/10 · 29 August 2007]

I saw this at the 2007 Palm Springs Festival of Short Films and it's a stunningly well made visual and audio experience. This is the story of Madame Tutli-Putli, who in her 1920's era clothing boards a train with all her earthly possessions packed in dozens of suitcases and trunks and heads into the evening sharing a car with two men playing chess, a man and is son and a menacing-looking and acting man who she all see's as people from her past. She descends into a nightmare as the train rolls across the remote Canadian countryside. This film won the Best Animated Short at the Toronto Worldwide Short film Festival. Fimmakers Chris Lewis and Maciek Tomaszewski are the writers, directors, editors, sculptors, art directors and animators of this stop action puppet short. They used sets combined with animation and used models for each puppet to correspond with the animation and filmed live action eyes for each puppet which both combined give these stop action puppets a half human looking appearance. The Sound team of David Bryant, Oliver Calvert and Gordon Krieger have put together a great film track and Bryant teams with Jean Frédéric for the film's wonderful mysterious musical score. Josh Walker provides special effects and Laurie Maher photographs. Lewis and Tomaszewski researched and formulated ideas for this film on a train trip across Canada. They have a cult following with their comic strip Untold Tales of Yuri Gatarin. I would give this a 9.0 out of 10 and hope to see more from these filmmakers.

Creepiest thing I have ever seen.

[deatman9 · 6/10 · 27 June 2012]

Uhh I really don't know what I just watched. I was flipping through channels and landed on a movie channel inbetween 2 movies. In that 15 minute time slot this show began. I saw the animation and was instantly compelled. But then I stuck around and things just got weird. The more and more I watched the stranger and stranger it became. Its very creepy.

Overall though I say it was pretty good. There was some very strange moments in it that make your heart race and your stomach turn mostly because the animation is as well creepy. So you don't like really creepy things don't watch this. NEVER WATCH ON HALUCINGENICS!!!

Incredible

[moerchi · 9/10 · 1 January 2008]

Madame Tutli-Putli is, quite simply, the greatest stop-motion short film I have ever seen, and I have seen quite a few. If you thought all that stop-motion films could be are comedic romps without any emotional weight, Madame Tutli-Putli proves you wrong. But the film also does not fall into the trap of becoming a self-indulgent showpiece, which, with so many years of work the filmmakers put into this, might as well have happened.

Additional props must go to the music score, which fits the film's mood perfectly and greatly enhances the spectrum of emotions the viewer will experience while watching Madame Tutli-Putli.

Touching and poignant, this is 2007's best short film.

Madame Tutli-Putli

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 6 April 2024]

The eponymous lady, weighed down by a mountain of luggage and pestered by a moth is awaiting a train. She boards to find two of the passengers engaging in what I can only describe as the most surreal game of chess - the moves randomly decided by the train's movements over the tracks and the points! Her other fellow passengers are best viewed as an eclectic mix and as she looks around she envisages just what one of them might have done ordinarily, before he behaves quite provocatively towards her. The train stops, all is quiet in this increasingly fantastic world in which she lives. The character (I thought she looked a bit like Isabella Rossellini) dresses twinset and pearls, like something from the 1920. The technology could be from now or even futuristic and gradually her nervousness in traveling transfers to us watching. The standard of character clay animation is impressive and the attention to detail - especially the faces, is at times quite expressive and sinister. Where is she going and who or what is with her? What's with the green mist? What's with the moth? "Horror Express" look out...!

A theme of death and rebirth

[yuliansu · 9/10 · 21 January 2014]

Clyde Henry Productions spent a considerable 5 years to make this short film. In the day and nights they worked, they cannot avoid the question of what message they want to deliver. Even if they chose to leave it open, they had enough time to ponder about it.

I think the message is the acceptance of death.

Our protagonist Madame Tutli-Putli, is dead already, when she boards the train. Why she doesn't instead board a ferry across the Rivers Styx? Because all these, Styx, ferry, are abstract, and subject to personal interpretation. The Greeks who invented the ferry on Styx do so because they live with rivers and ferries. A modern Canadian should take a train, as they are used to. A China man took the Helpless bridge 奈何桥 over the Yellow Spring (黄泉), accordingly. They just go through this phase in the way they are most familiar with.

Let's look at the two man playing chess. When should someone be wrapped in a case and delivered to some other place? Mail-order bride does not happen often; the usual case is delivery of bone ashes. So they are both dead, too. The chess game can be a picture of their lives: their is a loser and there is a winner, but they failed to do any meaningful move. The destiny decides. The child died with deep grudge against his enemy; we can only guess what happened.

Madame Tutli-Putli cannot leave her past behind. People like her would have her memory purged by force after-death. In typical Chinese myth the instrument for this is a bow of nepenthe soup (孟婆湯). I am guessing every culture has their instruments. And in the film, that nepenthe is a poisoned yellow gas.

She saw it coming, as she see the train stops in some lifeless woods. The Chinese equivalent is a small tavern on the road to the Yellow Spring, where dead travellers sit and sign before they drink the soup that purges their memory: in the very tavern they were told that nothing they can carry on the road onward. This is what happened in the movie: Tutli-Putli tried to write something, but soon the gas fills the train and she loses every possession. We even don't know the name of her beloved, whom she is trying to address. The struggle to carry possessions and names on board was a struggle in vain.

In the moment the poison purges memory, she sees the memory of others, perhaps because the gas takes away the memory of everyone and they were mixed. She sees that the man sitting opposite to her died and someone took his organs. He died a miserable death and she is frightened.

Waking up with all memories lost, she run aimlessly towards the light, feeling sorry that she is an empty body with no past. She eventually throw herself into a light, and thus embraced death.

She was alone when she run towards the light. Where is every other dead person? My guess is they are gone before her, and she is the last to obtain rebirth. Her burden was the greatest. Her departure with her past particularly more difficult.

What does the film say? Modern technology and superior condition of life made people live longer, but it also makes the acceptance of death more difficult. In the past, men don't decide to die. You don't go through acceptance of death, you simply die. Instead of finding death, death finds you and fall upon you. By 2007, when the movie produced, things are much more different. Men are more likely to die of cancer, which is a failure of own facility. Unlike other diseases that were boldly challenged and conquered, in this game you can fight, but you probably won't win (the chess scene). To let the audience have a look of what will happen, how should it happen, relieves you from the horror of death, which possesses you ever since you get old. To the less rapt audience, the film is rich of techniques that keeps you focused. It wins all kinds of audiences.

wow

[PIST-OFF · 7/10 · 28 January 2021]

Though I'm not really sure what this short is supposed to be about, I like it nonetheless. The lead doll is rendered super realistic, right down to localized facial discoloration. It looks absolutely stunning. Most of the other characters appear fairly exaggerated but the main doll is really really eerily lifelike. The only thing that trips up the illusion are impossible proportions.

not a bit subtle depressing garbage

[drystyx · 1/10 · 14 January 2010]

Writer director Lavis is just another of the neo-Nazis who get financial backing to produce this kind of garbage. He isn't a bit subtle about his vision of the dead brunette.

She has to leave behind all her possessions as a train picks her up into the next life, and nearly every scene shows her in what appears to be a coffin. She sees poisonous gas and ghouls, and constantly is in the coffin. Lavis just goes overboard with Hitler idealism. Some hacks believe their desire to depress people makes them artists, but it doesn't. It only makes them one of the countless rich brats with no artistic ability whatsoever.

Easily the worst animated short ever.

Mind. Blown.

[SisterClodagh · 9/10 · 19 February 2008]

This was an astounding, haunting little film. The protagonist has this eerie Buster Keaton look about her and the subtlety and realism of her expressions is extraordinary. It's like no stop motion animation I've ever seen. The protagonist is this small, put upon woman who embarks on a train journey with what appear to be all her worldly possessions. She speaks not a word the entire time, but her gestures and her giant silent film star eyes are incredibly evocative as she faces small insults and later very real threats on her journey. Try to catch a screening of this amazing tiny gem if you can, or order it via Netflix. It's absolutely worth it.

a great short film

[anafeb · 10/10 · 4 May 2016]

Madame Tutli-Putli has boarded the nightly train carrying all her life baggage with her.

Produced by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski in 2007. As day becomes night Madame begins to dream, both in and out of real and imaginary worlds.She confronts her demons real and imaginary ones. As she embarks on this mysterious journey, she discovers something far beyond her imagination.

The movie has absolutely stunning cinematography. The visual affects were very detailed and creative. The suspenseful sound had me on edge, it made you want to question what would happen next.The editing of the plot was great. It gave a lot of information without having to say much.

The theme of this great short film was unraveled at the need when Madam transforms saying that in death we cant take anything with us, that we must follow the light.

Overall i thoroughly enjoyed this great short film from beginning to end, and maybe even learned a thing or two.

Visually creepy, stunning and impressive

[llltdesq · 10/10 · 28 January 2014]

This short was nominated for an Oscar for Animated Short. There will be spoilers:

This short starts out with the titular character standing on a train station platform with all the baggage of a human life with her. She suddenly winds up on board a train with said baggage in the strangest train compartment possible. Robert Bloch would be impressed. A strange chess game and the creepiest tennis player ever round out the background to Madame's journey into a nightmare.

Madame recovers from an enforced "sleep" to find herself in an otherwise empty compartment after having a "dream" or "nightmare" which may or may not have been imagined. She winds up out in the corridor and goes deeper into the strangeness. Ultimately, this leads to a fascinating and visually beautiful, if predictable ending.

This has given me more than a few shudders and is rather creepy but is also visually fascinating and exceptional in its detail. The plot is relatively simple and a bit obvious in spots. But it's an excellent example of stop motion animation and very memorable.

A production of the National Film Board of Canada, this short is well worth watching and most recommended.

cinanima 2007

[RResende · 9 November 2007]

I can't say this was not challenging for me, visually speaking, because it was. This is the work of really competent people, in every technical aspect. I specially enjoyed the placement of real filmed eyes over the built puppets. It added a lot to the hole mood. The sets are really fantastic, check all the different packages, clothes, accessories, and all the things stuffed in the train. Check how the characters were developed, how their expressions are really intentional. And than check the editing, with special note to the way sound effects (and music) are mixed with the image composition. This is really good work. But it didn't stay with me, because it failed into challenging my imagination as it challenged my visual understanding of the scenes, sets, characters and pacing. In the end, this left nothing inside, it didn't give me much to dream or even think about, even though it was clearly aimed at provoking those feelings. It even allowed my imagination to mentally review and re enjoy other films i had just seen, and when this happens to me, it usually happens because the images in front of me fail to capture my attention. Of course this may be a matter of personal choices, or finding in the images displayed elements to which one personally relates. I didn't relate to what i've seen.

My evaluation: 2/5 it may work for you, it didn't for me.

http://www.7eyes.wordpress.com

How Does One Interpret This Story?

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 3 August 2010]

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. At least I'm being honest. Maybe a second viewing will make me see things clearer. The last few minutes were extremely puzzling. But don't be misled; I liked it.

This is another bizarre and riveting stop-action animated short from the National Film Board of Canada, which has put out some really interesting material in recent years.

"Madame Tutli-Putli" is not a humorous story, although you might get a few chuckles in the 17 minutes. It's mostly a haunting tale of a waif-like woman on a Canadian night train with all her earthly possessions and a cabin full a strange people. It must take place in the 1920s or early '30s because the woman wore one of the "Flapper" hats.

Anyway, without giving more away, the story gets tense and then gets downright scary. Is the woman going to be attacked by outside strangers who mysteriously board the train or is it all a fantasy by this troubled woman? I liked the music score in here, and was glad to read some other reviewers here felt the same way. It's easy to get wrapped up in the amazing visuals and the story and overlook this cool music.

"Madame Tutli-Putli" was nominated in 2008 for an Oscar. It didn't win, but just being nominated tells you it is definitely worth a look. But, beware: it's not "for all tastes," as the cliché goes. I saw it on the Blu-Ray "Animated Express" DVD which showed off the artwork to the max.

A Dense Nightmare

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 4 March 2019]

This animated short is so full of threat and fear. Its heroine is a thin, sad, sunken-eyed figure who is on a voyage of terror. She is skeletal and gaunt and in constant fear. As the train rolls along, more and more frightening images pass her by or act on odd impulses. Some have interpreted this as a death experience. I found it so sad and so stark.

complete work

[Kirpianuscus · 27 January 2017]

a woman. a train. a moth or butterfly . a trip. and a lot of revelation. you admire the high quality stop motion animation. and each detail of story. you discover a creepy trip. and a lot of symbols. and an unique character - the eyes as the best part -. many explanations. each more than correct. dark poetry. and the air of parable. a question. about people and things and life. about phobias and incertitude and about freedom. nothing more. all in a kind of artistic gem. because this short animation is a complete work. all is perfect. like a question of the Sphynx. many answers who reflects the viewer. many suppositions. ad the end as key. to yourself. this is it .

A good day to get into shorts!!

[mangameman · 9/10 · 1 August 2010]

NOTE: CONTAINS STORY THEORIZATION & SPOILERS

Funny summary I know, I just started to really watch short movies today. Stop-motion in general, this was the second I watched. First I'll say this is the most visually stunning stop-motion film you will ever see to date! The way it is filmed and the characters move, it's like they had motion captured actors and put clay on them! The music was very moody and added great to the emotion of the film. As far as the story goes, I thought it was pretty moving. You see, I think that this character had a real fear of death (Like most of us) I think that the muggers or thieves if you want to call them were body snatchers. It was displayed in the scene when the tennis player gets one of his organs cut out. So, when she was running through the train at the end toward the bright light. Well, I think you see were I'm getting at now. Also, the moth that turns into an angelic being at the end. It just makes sense that she was also killed by the body snatchers and died and went to her afterlife. It was moving for me, and I don't think it's Neo-Nazistic.

I rate it an 9 for artistic approach, music & emotional story.

Slipstream

[tieman64 · 1 May 2012]

Directed by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, "Madame Tutli-Putli" is a somewhat groundbreaking stop-motion animation. The macabre film, which reportedly took over five years to produce, revolves around Madame Tutli-Putli, a frail looking woman who boards a midnight train. She's shown carrying a lot of extra baggage, both physical and psychological, the latter of which may or may not play a part in the bizarre nightmare which she experiences during her midnight journey. It's a nightmare rife with strange sights, grotesque visions and a plot in which freakish train robbers sneak aboard the train, cut open a man's stomach and steals his kidneys. Whether these events are really happening, are a nightmare, or are manifestations of the woman's warped personality – her misreading of real but far less sinister events – is left entirely up to the audience. Figuring out exactly what's going on is part of the film's charm.

It's technique rather than content which elevates "Madame Tutli-Putli", though. The directors, for example, used composited human eyes, which lend their characters a creepy, life-like quality. More jaw dropping is the film's second half, which essentially invents a kind of stop-motion "shaky-cam". Stop-motion, of course, is usually a rigid affair, with stiff camera work. But here the film-makers have recreated an extremely free-form, almost cinema-verite quality. This must have been a nightmare to shoot, Szczerbowski's camera needing constant micro set-ups and micro adjustments. No wonder the film took five years to create. Harryhausen and Aardman never attempted anything quite like this.

8/10 – Worth one viewing.