Conspirators of Pleasure
Dir: Jan Svankmajer
1996
*****
Jan Svankmajer is a genre unto himself. I think it's fairly futile to try and decipher what most of his films are about, they're open to interpretation just as much as anyone's films but I would hazard a guess that they are purely the works of a wonderful imagination. Conspirators of Pleasure has pleasure and desire as it's main theme and is structured brilliantly by having each short story and character interlinked through a Czech apartment block. Each character's indulgence is slowly revealed one by one, leading to a hugely enjoyable crescendo of colour, creativity and utter madness. There is symbolism throughout, beginning with our main character's world changing as soon as he enters his own closet. I can think of many film makers and artists who have been inspired by Svankmajer but I can think of no one who compares to his rich and surreal blend of stop motion, puppetry and sculptured imagery. It's impossible to catagorise this film as it could be considered a comedy but it has far more in common with horror but it's certainly not a comedy horror film. It's a beautifully bizarre opus of satire and seduction, impossible to resist in many respects, objectifying the story's theme perfectly.