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Their latest project, a live-action/ animation combination, The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes is their second foray into feature-length filmmaking, the first being the widely acclaimed Institute Benjamenta in 1995. The plot centers on Felisberto, a lonely piano tuner (Sarachu) who is summoned to the remote island of Dr. Droz (John) to repair his wondrously insane collection of musical mechanisms. In the process, Felisberto falls for Melvina, a beautiful opera singer (Casar) who was kidnapped by Droz sometime in the early 19th century. How he deals with his affections for Melvina is a tough prospect when Droz and his sinister housekeeper (Serna) are constantly around, lurking just beyond eyesight.
The Quays' imagery is stunning. Filled with diffuse lighting, delirious set pieces, stop-motion animation and colorful costumes, there is a precision and seamlessness to the Quays' artistry that skillfully evokes a fantasy world few viewers will have problems accepting. More impressively, given the lack of dialogue, the actors have a placid, tableau quality to their acting (most notably Serna) that feeds into the film's visual strengths.
However, the film suffers from a bland script and repetitive pacing that slowly washes away the luster of the Quays' otherworldly self-awareness. The plot isn't the problem—there's nothing wrong with a simple premise with fairy-tale trimmings. But the Quays do little to expand it and rely too much on viewers to project their own dark fears to the underwritten material, and the end result is—and this is something I never thought I would never say about the Quay brothers—somewhat tedious.