In this latest offering by the great Czech filmmaker Jan
Svankmajer, modern-day Prague is the setting for the story of six ordinary, if
somewhat seedy individuals who, with almost no dialogue, obsessively and
painstakingly prepare their sexual 'feasts.'
Like fastidious but inspired chefs, they concoct -- with the aid of the most
eclectic array of objects, animals, devices and processes -- an orgasmic meal of
hilarious and literally explosive results. A postwoman, shopkeeper, television
presenter, detective and two odd apartment dwellers secretly plunder and pillage
their environments in search of their magical ingredients.
As their solitary paths crisscross, we see how Svankmajer condenses the sexual,
the social and the political in a society still breaking with the habits of a
sexually puritanical past. Svankmajer relates it all with mischevious
misanthropy and a brilliant array of live action filmmaking, special effects and
animation techniques.
Also included is the short film Food (1993. Czech Rep. 14 mins. Color.):
Svankmajer at his hilarious best, cooking up a wonderful, three-course meal out
of clay. Includes grey-suited men as human vending machines, a couple at dinner
devouring a restaurant and a tour of a cannibalistic banquet.
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NTSC Region 1
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Food - 14m Short
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