Surviving Life

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2010, 105 min
Section: Czech Films 2010 - 2011

Synopsis

Evžen, a man in late middle age, has a dream about a beautiful young woman, and it yanks him out of his stereotypical marital existence. Since he feels this isn’t just a case of absurd daydreaming, but of a destined encounter, he goes to see a psychoanalyst. The latter merely views it as the sexual frustration of a man dissatisfied with his childless marriage to the ageing Milada. Realising he can’t rely on anyone but himself, Evžen finds a way of entering his dream world, where he starts to build a new, better existence. However, not only does his jealous wife interfere in this new life, but also a repulsive, overbearing old woman whom the analyst defines as his super-ego.... "Fear of life is a basic human emotion. It’s far stronger than the fear of death,” notes Jan Švankmajer. "If, as Freud tells us, the purpose of dreams is to fulfil our secret or manifest desires, then somewhere deep inside us, that most basic of human desires is surely being constantly fulfilled: to survive one’s own life.” In his icily sarcastic, surrealist collage about the dark forces of the male subconscious, the director combines real actors with animated passages.

About the director

Jan Švankmajer (b. 1934, Prague) is known for an original vision, whether cinematic, artistic or theoretical, which is rooted in his surrealist persuasion. As an artist he was also involved in a number of feature films. He debuted in 1964 with the short grotesque The Last Trick of Mr Schwarzwald and Mr Edgar and rapidly became one of the key figures of world animation. From shorts he moved on to features incorporating animated episodes. Even his animated works often included important roles for real objects or people, as in the combined features Alice (1987), Faust (1994), Conspirators of Pleasure (1996), Little Otík (2000) and Lunacy (2005). The Karlovy Vary IFF held a retrospective of his work in 2004, and in 2009 he was honoured with the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema.