Surviving Life (Theory and Practice) (2010)
"Prezít svuj zivot (teorie a praxe)" (original title)

Director:

Jan Svankmajer

Writer:

Jan Svankmajer (screenplay)

Stars:

Václav Helsus, Klára Issová, Zuzana Krónerová

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Václav Helsus	...	Evzen / Milan
Klára Issová	...	Evzenie
Zuzana Krónerová	...	Milada
Daniela Bakerova	...	Dr. Holubová
Emília Doseková	...	Super-ego
Marcel Nemec	...	Colleague
Jan Pocepický	...	Antiquarian
Jana Olhová	...	Prostitute
Pavel Nový	...	Janitor
Karel Brozek	...	Boss
Miroslav Vrba	...	Fikejz
Ludmila Hanuláková
Lenka Dvorská
Vaclav Jezek
Jan Svankmajer	...	Himself

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

surreal | part animation | dream

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Taglines:

Psychoanalytická komedie (A psychoanalytical comedy)

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Fantasy | Mystery

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Details

Official Sites:

Athanor [cz] Bontonfilm [cz]

Country:

Czech Republic Slovakia Japan

Language:

Czech

Release Date:

16 September 2010 (Slovakia)

Also Known As:

Surviving Life (Theory and Practice)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Athanor, C-Ga Film, Ceská Televize

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References La Dolce Vita (1960)

User Reviews

A surreal experience

SURVIVING LIFE is my first Svankmajer film. I'm not sure it was the ideal place to start, because it doesn't seem to be a very accessible type of movie. The director stars as himself, playing a man in an unhappy marriage who's haunted by dreams of a beautiful woman. To that end, he begins visiting a psychiatrist, and that's where the fun really begins.

The most arresting, and original thing, about the production is the animation. The characters are animated via stills moved through stop-motion, and it's a unique experience, one that brought to mind the old days of MONTY PYTHON. With this being a surreal film, there's plenty of surrealist humour, mostly involving creatures with human heads or humans with animal heads.

The story is where the film lets itself down a bit, because it doesn't really seem to be about much. There's no sense of pace or narrative structure, just endless repetition in the elaborate dream sequences and the real-life stuff, which is just as weird. The humour works, the jokes are funny, but the script isn't. By the end, I found it all slightly tiresome and wondered if it might have worked better as a short.