Out of the Past 2014 / Možnosti dialogu / Czechoslovakia 1982
It’s all the same whether the conversations involve men, or a man and a woman. Švankmajer, without requiring a single word, uses three examples to demonstrate that communication is governed by aggression, the battle for dominance, selfishness, unwillingness and an inability to listen to others. Here, destruction is conveyed via dazzling animated metaphors.
Where Švankmajer’s films are concerned, the only thing we can always rely on is the fact that they will defy our expectations and also the impressions they initially make on us. Dimensions of Dialogue doesn’t present us with models of meaningful human understanding; on the contrary, we are given three examples which clearly demonstrate that communication can and will break down. The endeavour to make a film without incorporating a single word, one that reflects the extent to which people fail to understand one another and are unable to have a conversation, can only be described as heroic. In addition to jittery musical tones, the soundtrack subtly blends in the background hum of typical pub banter, suggesting that aggressive, value-eroding language is a common phenomenon (Factual conversation); we also have the excruciating cacophony of scraping, creaking and screeching as "echoes” of equally unbearable exchanges of views (Exhaustive discussion). Moreover, during this 12-minute arch-opus, the filmmaker proves his virtuosity and limitless invention by changing his artistic style and animation technique three times.
12 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Jan Švankmajer
/ Screenplay Jan Švankmajer
/ Dir. of Photography Vladimír Malík
/ Music Jan Klusák
/ Editor Helena Lebdušková
/ Production Krátký film Praha
/ Contact Krátký Film Praha, a.s.
/ Distributor Krátký Film Praha, a.s.
Jan Švankmajer (b. 1934, Prague). It’s not enough simply to watch his films; one has to really think about what we are seeing, although our eyes are hardly able to take in the wealth of artistic ideas and the inspired animation techniques. Each new film introduces fresh and original ways to combine real objects, outlandish puppets and live actors, all interacting with their surroundings, be it clay or the cracked walls of a dilapidated house. The director’s surreal take on the world dismantles all established rules and accepted values; everything reveals its other side, the truth is unpleasant, and we are all forced to admit that we don’t really know ourselves at all. Nevertheless, we can take comfort in the fact that the inventory of this essential surrealist also contains irony and laughter, if both bracing and destructive. Švankmajer has become an institution in world cinema and his films miraculously never seem to age.
Krátký Film Praha, a.s.
Kříženeckého nám.1079/5B, 152 53, Praha 5
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 267 091 110
Fax: +420 267 091 500
E-mail: [email protected]
Jan Švankmajer
Film Director
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