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Profile of Jan Švankmajer

Directed by Jan Švankmajer, Czech Republic/Slovakia 2010, 105 min.

Everything essential about this film is revealed to the audience right at the beginning by its creator, Jan Švankmajer himself. He explains that due to a lack of funds, he had to choose cutout animation (though photographs are animated rather than the usual drawings) instead of a live-action film. This animation is partially combined with live-action sequences—especially in the frequently used close-ups of faces. The plot is based on a dream of his, and he was finally able to realize his long-held idea: to make a film in which dream transforms into reality and vice versa. Where there is a dream, there is also psychoanalysis. That’s why this is a psychoanalytic comedy...

In original version.