Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass

2024 [POLISH]

Animation / Drama / Fantasy / Horror

Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 82% · 17 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 82%
IMDb Rating 5.8/10 10 289 289

based on novel or book sanatorium time travel surrealism stop motion hospital

Plot summary

Jozef embarks on a journey via a ghostly train to visit his dying father in a remote Galician sanatorium. Upon arrival, he discovers that the sanatorium exists in a realm where time is distorted—his father's death has not yet occurred, as time here lags behind the outside world by an undefined interval. Jozef's experiences become increasingly fragmented and dreamlike as he confronts various manifestations of his father, each representing different aspects of their relationship and his own psyche.

Director

Top cast

Andrzej Klak Photo
Andrzej Klak as Chimney Swiper
Zenaida Yanowsky Photo
Zenaida Yanowsky
Wioletta Kopanska Photo
Wioletta Kopanska as Adele II
Tadeusz Janiszewski Photo
Tadeusz Janiszewski as Auctioneer
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
703.86 MB
1280*690
Polish 2.0
NR
Subtitles pl  
24 fps
1 hr 16 min
Seeds 31
1.41 GB
1920*1080
Polish 2.0
NR
Subtitles pl  
23.976 fps
1 hr 15 min
Seeds 58

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by 7 / 10

Experimental Cinema in the shape of a hazy dream. Death and father figures.

Lots of visual distortions, small specific loops of actions to a vacant rhythmIf I had watched this in a place besides the MoMASo effectively dreamlike that it might impair the film. There is a lot of optical effects that play with focus, create doubled ghostly images and distort things towards further unreality.Seven instances in a life, in a death dream at the end of the line of a ghostly train that runs eternal. Viewed through an archaic reliquary viewing box. Live action and stop motion blend.I try and resist the urge to impose logic or narrative on a film like this. I don't know enough about to process to know why, but it seems extraordinary that this took twenty years to make. In that and to some extent it's feel, it feels like Mad God.I found my experience positive and engaging, frustrating occasionally and moments that here I couldn't help but laugh. It makes me want to seek out the 1970s film adaptation and some other work by Quay Brothers.
Reviewed by 10 / 10

Philosophical horror to cast light into your soul

Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass (2024) is a film that strikes deep into the soul. It's not just a philosophical animated horror - it's a journey back to the life a father once stole. I've never seen a film so dark and yet so luminous at the same time.During the screening at Stockfish festival in Reykjavik-2025, three people walked out. The other hundred left... changed.I found myself laughing at some of the harder moments - like the one with the little shoe (you'll know what I mean when you see it). But this film is best watched at home, with tissues and a remote in hand - to pause, to catch your breath, to wipe away the salty, bitter tears clouding your eyes, to momentarily stop time and truly live through this fantastical experience.This movie isn't for everyone. But if you're not "everyone," you should watch it.
Read more IMDb reviews

No comments yet

Be the first to leave a comment