This is an interesting film if you give it a chance. However, considering it looks pretty bleak, I could see someone giving up on it quickly--particularly if they know nothing about recent Czechoslovakian history. Stick with it--it's an excellent bit of parody.
The film begins in a depressing town. There are lots of rusty looking homes and a man sits on the room of his apartment building with his cat. It's obvious that this was set during the Soviet era when Czechoslovakia was still a nation and not two separate ones like today. In the street below are lots of poor women doing what is common during this time period--standing in lines. As they wait, an officer of the regime looks on impassively. Suddenly, the man on the roof starts to fall and is hanging on for dear life--at which point, the system goes to work. Instead of doing anything competent to help, a couple guys with a coffin wait below. And, as the man hangs, women looking out their apartments into the street below occasionally fall out of the buildings to their deaths--and no one seems to notice or care. When an ambulance finally comes, the men from it watch the man--ignoring the dead or dying women. Talk about incompetence and ambivalence! This is a political statement about the old inefficient and uncaring system. It's obvious due to the occasional inclusion of Soviet images, such as a picture of Lenin and the shining red star. It's all very clever.
As far as the animation goes, it is stop-motion but not at all like the work of fellow Czech Jan Svankmajer--which tends to be even darker and less cartoony. Also, I was quite impressed by the sets and care that went into creating this dark view of the past--though I could have done without the cat sex scene!
The film begins in a depressing town. There are lots of rusty looking homes and a man sits on the room of his apartment building with his cat. It's obvious that this was set during the Soviet era when Czechoslovakia was still a nation and not two separate ones like today. In the street below are lots of poor women doing what is common during this time period--standing in lines. As they wait, an officer of the regime looks on impassively. Suddenly, the man on the roof starts to fall and is hanging on for dear life--at which point, the system goes to work. Instead of doing anything competent to help, a couple guys with a coffin wait below. And, as the man hangs, women looking out their apartments into the street below occasionally fall out of the buildings to their deaths--and no one seems to notice or care. When an ambulance finally comes, the men from it watch the man--ignoring the dead or dying women. Talk about incompetence and ambivalence! This is a political statement about the old inefficient and uncaring system. It's obvious due to the occasional inclusion of Soviet images, such as a picture of Lenin and the shining red star. It's all very clever.
As far as the animation goes, it is stop-motion but not at all like the work of fellow Czech Jan Svankmajer--which tends to be even darker and less cartoony. Also, I was quite impressed by the sets and care that went into creating this dark view of the past--though I could have done without the cat sex scene!
