Children of the devil

Mariola Brillowska’s animation film relates the total collapse of the family system in the 21st century. Six cartoon episodes present an unsparing account of how children become the murderers of their parents. To this end the work adapts literary models by M. Gretkowska (Poland), O. Castel-Bloom (Israel), R. Liksom (Finland), E. Limonov (Russia) and F. Arrabal (Spain). Controversial themes are handled in bright, comic-like colours, accompanied by a voice-over commentary. The episodes are linked by the cartoon figure of Mariola Brillowska herself, who appears between the individual stories as the future President of the Universe and as a family expert.

Drastic fates show the failure of the family model: In various sections of the population, which diverge socially, regionally and culturally, different motives result in the death of the parents or legal guardians. The fate of the siblings who depend on social aid runs similarly to that of an industrialist’s son brought up in prosperity. The increasing pressure which a child prodigy exerts on its parents, the sexual frustration of adolescence, and perversities which result in child abuse, are further aspects of this thematic complex. The tale of the first twitter-baby acts as a framework plot. In Łódź (Poland) Adam and Eve beget a child called 'It', whose birth signals the start of the subsequent evolution, which runs counter to the previous unity of the family. (Leonard Stühl)