Jídlo

This film is one of the tightest most beautiful short films I have seen, as well as being one that truly forces you to think . From an animator who has delivered so many incredible films ,I see this as a true center piece for his constant trials with censorship authorities. Using food itself as a social commentary for poverty and oppression, Jan is able to make us both visually intrigued while still delivering an intellectual point,something rare in todays world of film.

When I see something like this, I start to think of David Lynch. I've always contended that Lynch has made a career out of putting his nightmares on film. From Eraserhead to Twin Peaks we are haunted by the indifference of the world and the bizarre figures that inhabit it. This is all about the consumption of food, where everything we do is related to eating. But what this film does with gross but stunning animation is brings these strange things to us and perhaps create new nightmares. for us.

The film goes as the summary tells but it is much more than that. Otherwise it would be another boring idea with no details. The major focus is on the lunch, other meals appearing to be only preface and epilogue, which is pacing faster and faster to reach a point of craziness at one time dumbfounding and mesmerizing. The contest and contrast between two diners are not on how fast we can eat but on what can be eaten and how do we eat them.

This short piece is a good example because the audience feels that it refers to something which cannot be clearly identified, thus allows for multiple explanations. You can substitute 'eat' with various other words, to see what you get there, and you are no where near the director's idea. Maybe he didn't have one at all!

Jan Svankmajer has portrayed many wacky things, but "Jidlo" is a whole new level. Portraying bizarre things happening during each meal, he goes all out. The first vignette "Breakfast" seems to be a slight repeat of his earlier movie "Et Cetera". The most eye-opening vignette is "Lunch", in which two men at a table can't get the waiter's attention, and resort to eating their plates, utensils, clothes, and even the table...but they don't intend to stop there. With "Dinner", Svankmajer decides to be grosser than the Farrelly brothers could ever dream of being.

Maybe this isn't Svankmajer's best movie ever, but it's still worth seeing.

Very funny surrealist partially animated dark comedy. It is divided in three segments with independent weird situations: breakfast, lunch and dinner. The first one is by far my favourite, and I would give it a 4.5. I laughed out loud! Luch is also good, and reminds me the style of another famous film by Svankmajer, Virile Games/Manly Games; however, it is the less impressive, and I rate it with a 3.5. The dinner segment, the shortest, have a 4.0 and it is quite funny and cheeky.