Lovers of classic animation should enjoy the second featured film by Zagreb director, Borivoj Dovnikovic. Made in 1966, Curiosity is an amusing study of human foibles. Set on a minimalist stage the lead character sits on the proverbial park bench watching the world go by. The world however is obsessed. It stops and has a peep at the large paper bag perched enigmatically on the vacant berth beside the often dozing man. A dog sniffs the package, children congregate to take a peek, a policeman inspects it, soldiers launch a military manoeuvre against the bag. The absurd is counterpointed with the mundane. A passing ship stops, passengers crane their many necks to take a look and the ship sinks. One passenger struggles ashore, steals a view, before returning to the water. The Zagreb School, as the Croatian animators of the time are known, produced a diverse collection of very fine and indeed striking films. Borivoj’s original short is essentially a single gag animation, finely executed but within the compass of one man or a small studio to produce. In its attitude to life’s absurdities it embraces the Yugoslavian zeitgeist of the times, a freedom to question as well as portray the sheer idiosyncrasy of life, institutions, man's behaviour. Bordo’s Learning To Walk provoked an email bemoaning the dearth of films like this today. I concur. Here we have animation in its purest form, intelligent, crisply drawn and animated, focused humour, adult.
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