Research Paper
WIP
Quest (1996) Critical Analysis
Plot Summary
Quest tells the tragic tale of a creature made entirely of sand, searching for water. The film begins with the sand creature awakening in their native land—a sandy desert wasteland, stretched as far as the eye can see—and reaching for an empty glass bottle. The sound of dripping water, however, draws them from their frustration and leads them to dig into the soft sand. Rather than finding water, however, the earth gives way, and the sand creature is pulled downwards and away from their home.
They eventually land in a new world, built of paper and howling winds. Despite how different this world seems, it too stretches emptily towards the horizon. After gaining their bearings and recovering from being buffeted by the winds of the paper world, the sand creature once again seeks out the sound of water. This time they successfully locate the sound, in the form of a damp patch of paper. In the creature’s scramble to get more than just the feeling of dampness, the paper gives beneath their weight, once again plunging them down.
The third world is not like the first two. Stacks of stones jut from the surface, sprouting unpredictably from the unforgiving earth, like trees reaching for the sun. Yet, it is no less empty and desolate than the worlds before. This world poses greater risks to the sand creature, but despite incurring a minor injury, they continue with single-minded determination towards their goal. This time, they manage to find a small puddle, but their desperation to dig further and get more leads to the ground once more splitting open and swallowing them whole.
Finally, the sand creature arrives at the most dangerous and unforgiving world of all—a realm dominated by metal and harsh machinery. After several close calls, they manage to find their way down into the bowels of this world, ever searching for water. They come close, with only a damaged sheet of metal standing between them and their objective; however, before they can adequately fight their way through to the water below, the surrounding machinery activates and crushes the creature.
Only the creature’s remains, granulated and destroyed beyond recognition, reach the water below. They continue to fall further, until the water gives way to the sandy world that began the film, accumulating into a familiar form laying besides a similarly familiar empty glass bottle.
They eventually land in a new world, built of paper and howling winds. Despite how different this world seems, it too stretches emptily towards the horizon. After gaining their bearings and recovering from being buffeted by the winds of the paper world, the sand creature once again seeks out the sound of water. This time they successfully locate the sound, in the form of a damp patch of paper. In the creature’s scramble to get more than just the feeling of dampness, the paper gives beneath their weight, once again plunging them down.
The third world is not like the first two. Stacks of stones jut from the surface, sprouting unpredictably from the unforgiving earth, like trees reaching for the sun. Yet, it is no less empty and desolate than the worlds before. This world poses greater risks to the sand creature, but despite incurring a minor injury, they continue with single-minded determination towards their goal. This time, they manage to find a small puddle, but their desperation to dig further and get more leads to the ground once more splitting open and swallowing them whole.
Finally, the sand creature arrives at the most dangerous and unforgiving world of all—a realm dominated by metal and harsh machinery. After several close calls, they manage to find their way down into the bowels of this world, ever searching for water. They come close, with only a damaged sheet of metal standing between them and their objective; however, before they can adequately fight their way through to the water below, the surrounding machinery activates and crushes the creature.
Only the creature’s remains, granulated and destroyed beyond recognition, reach the water below. They continue to fall further, until the water gives way to the sandy world that began the film, accumulating into a familiar form laying besides a similarly familiar empty glass bottle.
Technical Details
Quest learns largely into stop-motion techniques, with character puppets and scenery constructed and filmed shot-by-shot by a two-man crew (Thomas Stellmach and Tyron Montgomery). According to Stellmach’s website, not only were these elements created from scratch, but many of the tools such as the single frame motor they used, were similarly built in-house in the Animation Department of Kassel University. The final film runs at 11 ½ minutes.
There is relatively little available about either of the two major directors, or at least not in English. Based on IMBD credits, Montgomery continues to work in German television, and has not done any further animated works since Quest.
Stellmach on the other hand has gone on to experiment with a variety of animation styles through the years. He has directed commercials and other small-projects, with his most recent non-commercial animation the 2013 short film Virtuoso Virtual.
There is relatively little available about either of the two major directors, or at least not in English. Based on IMBD credits, Montgomery continues to work in German television, and has not done any further animated works since Quest.
Stellmach on the other hand has gone on to experiment with a variety of animation styles through the years. He has directed commercials and other small-projects, with his most recent non-commercial animation the 2013 short film Virtuoso Virtual.
Symbolism & Meaning
In my general research, which was limited in part by a language barrier, I was unable to find any definitive creator statements about the intention behind Quest. This is probably for the best, because I tend towards death to the author readings, even if I have to kill the author myself.
As mentioned in the plot summary above, the sand creature visits four vastly different worlds in their quest to find water, only to meet an unfortunate fate before actually reaching their goal. It stands well enough on its own, without any deeper meaning and insights, but if I were to assign meaning I would call this a story about addiction.
The shape of the bottle at the beginning and ends of the film call to mind those used for alcohol, rather than water skins or canteens or more traditional methods of carrying water. On top of that, the bottle sticks out starkly in the vast landscape, void of all but sand.
No explanation is ever offered as to why the sand creature is so desperate for another drink; in fact, their pursuit is decidedly not one of necessity. They do not require water to live; they are of the sand, as seen when they lose part of their physical body to the saws and blades of the industrial world. And yet, the creature is seen more than willing to put life and body on the line in the desperate search for it. Aside from the mishap in the industrial world, we see the creature come to physical harm at least one other time in the world of stone; on top of that, we see its body physically deform under the stress and pressure of falling one world to the next. And, in the end, that desperate quest for something that they cannot have leads to their ultimate destruction.
Much like addiction, there is also indication that this process is cyclical. That after the sand creature has reached the water through literal self-destruction, it is reborn again right where it began: the sandy wastes, accompanied only by the empty glass bottle. Doomed to repeat everything once again in an attempt to quench its thirst.
As mentioned in the plot summary above, the sand creature visits four vastly different worlds in their quest to find water, only to meet an unfortunate fate before actually reaching their goal. It stands well enough on its own, without any deeper meaning and insights, but if I were to assign meaning I would call this a story about addiction.
The shape of the bottle at the beginning and ends of the film call to mind those used for alcohol, rather than water skins or canteens or more traditional methods of carrying water. On top of that, the bottle sticks out starkly in the vast landscape, void of all but sand.
No explanation is ever offered as to why the sand creature is so desperate for another drink; in fact, their pursuit is decidedly not one of necessity. They do not require water to live; they are of the sand, as seen when they lose part of their physical body to the saws and blades of the industrial world. And yet, the creature is seen more than willing to put life and body on the line in the desperate search for it. Aside from the mishap in the industrial world, we see the creature come to physical harm at least one other time in the world of stone; on top of that, we see its body physically deform under the stress and pressure of falling one world to the next. And, in the end, that desperate quest for something that they cannot have leads to their ultimate destruction.
Much like addiction, there is also indication that this process is cyclical. That after the sand creature has reached the water through literal self-destruction, it is reborn again right where it began: the sandy wastes, accompanied only by the empty glass bottle. Doomed to repeat everything once again in an attempt to quench its thirst.
Principles of Animation
Squash & Stretch
The sand creature’s ambling walk is reinforced through the use of stretches that twist the spine back much further than looks natural.
Anticipation
Quest makes use of of anticipation particularly well in the sequence when the sand creature uses a heavy stone to crack open the rocks below, in its attempts to find water.
Staging
The majority of the shots totally centered, to emphasize the desolation of the environment and the smallness of the sand creature within it.
This sequence focuses on the sand creature, the only thing illuminated amidst the dark mechanical world. It is difficult to see much detail in the background, but our gaze is drawn to the foreground by a dark shape that moves in front of the lighted figure of the sand creature. This not only signals to the audience a change of environment, but also directs their gaze towards the right side of the screen for the next shot.
Follow-Through & Overlapping Action
The sequence where the sand creature clings desperately to a hanging wire above demonstrates the use of follow-through and overlapping action, as their legs swing haphazardly after the rest of their body.
Arc
In the paper world, loose leafs of paper are blown about in the wind. They travel in lightly arced paths, like tumbleweeds. Their motion communicates how light weight they are. By contrast, the falling rocks barely arc at all, their weight anchoring them to the earth soon after they fall.
Conclusion
This short is really weird but I liked it anyways. Thank you for coming to my animation talk.
Works Cited
Thomas Stellmach. (1996). Quest. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTyev6OaThg
Quest. (2001, October 24). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117419/.
Stellmach, T. (n.d.). Quest. Retrieved from http://www.stellmach.com/Webseiten/Quest/Quest_information.html.
Stellmach, T. (n.d.). Filmography. Retrieved from http://www.stellmach.com/Filmography.html.
Tyron Montgomery. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0599946/.
VIRTUOSO VIRTUAL. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.brooklynfilmfestival.org/film-detail?fid=1516.
Quest. (2001, October 24). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117419/.
Stellmach, T. (n.d.). Quest. Retrieved from http://www.stellmach.com/Webseiten/Quest/Quest_information.html.
Stellmach, T. (n.d.). Filmography. Retrieved from http://www.stellmach.com/Filmography.html.
Tyron Montgomery. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0599946/.
VIRTUOSO VIRTUAL. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.brooklynfilmfestival.org/film-detail?fid=1516.
