My first exposure to the work of legendary director Jan Svankmajer was his strangely creepy 2000 comedy “Little Otik”, which tells the sensitive story of a childless couple and their relationship with a peculiar root baby. That’s right — a root baby. Since then, I’ve consumed as much of the man’s output as I possibly could, including the man’s underrated 2005 endeavor “Lunacy”. Much to my giddy delight, Twitch has kindly posted the trailer for the filmmaker’s latest effort, the suitably bizarre “Surviving Life”. If you’ve never seen anything by Svankmajer, you might be a little perplexed by this clip, and that’s okay. We pass no judgments here at Beyond Hollywood. Not openly, anyway.
Here’s a synopsis to clarify things:
Eugene (Václav Helsus) leads a double life – married to Milada, he also dreams of the beautiful Evgenia (Klára Issová). Seeking to perpetuate his dream life, he goes to see a psychoanalyst, who attempts to provide an ongoing interpretation of his experiences. On the wall are portraits of Freud and Jung, which become animated, alternately applauding, disapproving or fighting over her interpretations.
If you’re going to be attending this year’s London Film Festival, I implore you to check it out. I will be green with jealousy, mind you, but I promise I’ll keep it to myself. The trailer lies below.
