Why Jan Švankmajer’s ‘Meat Love’ is the strangest, shortest film you’ll ever watch

Jan Švankmajer’s 1989 short film *Meat Love* turns two slabs of meat into lovers through stop-motion animation, then ends their romance when they are put in a frying pan. Its one-minute story shows how Švankmajer uses absurd humour and uncanny imagery to unsettle viewers and invite reflection on how people regard meat and the animals it comes from.

The film follows the meat as one slice admires itself in a spoon, then the pair dance and flirt to an old-fashioned song. Flour, close-up images of raw flesh and abrupt cooking give the playful scene a grotesque edge. The article says Švankmajer’s intentions are unclear, but suggests the film can be read as a pro-vegetarian fable; he has also used real meat and animal bones in his work.