Insects

A friend of mine once told me a story from our college days. During the final exams, the university elder was present, who had suffered from Alzheimer's disease. No one dared to question the professor's intellectual performance, although senility was clearly evident. I realize that I am not as considerate or sentimental. Švankmajer accompanied me on my film education and meant a lot to me, but his previous film already seemed tired to me, and that feeling was multiplied here. Considering the way it was financed, the final result is truly disappointing. If I were one of the fans who contributed to the project, I would consider this investment a perfect waste of money. I do not blame the old man for his desire to play with film material one last time, but a dignified farewell in cinema should be better. For those who want to explore Švankmajer's work, I recommend avoiding his last two films and finishing with Lunacy. Out of respect for Švankmajer's former merits, my overall impression is 30%. (05/06/2019)

It is symptomatic that Švankmajer initially explains that he wrote the screenplay in one sitting. He also denies that it makes any sense and has no idea what it is about. The result is an amazing exercise in narrative subversiveness with actors deliberately acting awkward, lack of time and editing continuity, and frequent insertions in which Švankmajer directs and commands the crew, or in which the actors talk about what dreams they are having. In any case, it really doesn't make sense and does not have a deeper meaning; it's more of an experiment that refutes all of the narrative rules. At times it's extremely fun, but at other times it's numbing and depressing. And in some moments, unfortunately, it is impossible to decipher when the subversiveness and non-continuity is a creative intention and when it is an unwanted mistake. (30/06/2018)