Conspirators of Pleasure (1996)

Too much of everything

Admirable film.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I didn't know what to expect from this film and so I sat back with an open mind and pressed play. From start to finish I barely blinked as the fascinating, intriguing story unfolded before me. I couldn't guess what was going to happen and where all the connections would connect and as each new image appeared on the screen I sat open mouthed, entranced. It is odd and magical. It is bizarre and interesting. It is not porn, far from it ! Fetish maybe but fetish in a slightly magic mushroom infused yet very normal and mundane world. It had a profound effect on me. I enjoyed it immensely but it also exercised parts of my brain, it made me think, it was like a visual jigsaw puzzle you needed to do in your mind and it left me relaxed and with a smile. The film is an antidote for all the dialogue packed, slick action, enormous budget blockbusters that shout at you from the screen. This film does not shout at you. It takes you by the hand and sees if you will be disgusted, asks you to look but checks to see if you'll look away. It's hard to describe to someone exactly what the films about. Show them, it's easier. Not everyone will like it but that's art for you. I loved it !

A bunch of seedy people indulge in their secret passions, using craft, technology, or anything they can get their hands on. It's a feature-length satire on fetishism filtered through Svankmajer's fairly deranged imagination with absolutely no dialogue and short bursts of animation later on. We spend the entire film wondering what these people are up to, and if the question is never clear, sex is definitely the answer, as the pornographic engravings during the opening titles implies. We're probably meant to find the bizarreness of human sexuality amusing, though here we're basically laughing at masturbators.It would have been funnier if it had been cleverer, and briefer, and without the darkish twist at the end, which - unforgivably for someone who takes surrealism as seriously as Svankmajer - strayed out of surreal territory towards a dubious kind of fantasy. Considered a masterpiece by some, the brisk pace makes it quite watchable and it's worth an occasional smirk, but 75 minutes of dismal, desperate people pursuing their monomania is mainly depressing. Not sure about all the wardrobes either.

In Prague, six ordinary-looking people work out their sexual fantasies: they build contraptions, they sew weird suits, they turn household objects into sexual devices. They're conspirators of pleasure, dedicating every moment of their lives to their fantasies. They're also the most harmless sexual perverts ever to grace cinema.In a world in which pervert conjures images of Norman Bates and Buffalo Bill, it's cool to see Jan Svankmajer showing that not having the same sexual appetites as others does not make one a monster. It makes you a bit silly, sure, especially if you like to dress up as a chicken; and you'll always have to be on the lookout, if you plan to put bread balls in your nostrils. But it's just another way of reaching pleasure.Speaking of deviations, this movie has little similarities to his previous ones, Alice and Faust. For one they're based on literary works; secondly they make extensive use of animation. Jan Svankmajer's greatest strength as a film magician is practically absent from this movie. But like his other movies, this one has no dialog. Svankmajer has confidence in his ability to show everything with his pictures and at times I did feel like I was peering into these characters' minds.Although not as visually impressive as Alice and Faust, this movie is still a fascinating cinematic feast for anyone who likes bizarre film-making.

This movie stirred a lot of feelings in me. I admit, I first saw it because I love Svankmajer and was enticed by the idea of men "stripping" in it. LOL It was fascinating to note that each character has his/her own musical theme attached. Too bad that if I wore the chicken head, no one would understand!But what got me was the two men Kula and Beltinsky. These guys actually turned me on, sad to say. Between the fact that they are the only people we get to see "naked" in the movie (interesting that Svankmajer avoids the genitalia!) and the fact that they give the most convincing orgasms, they practically got me aroused with them! Of course, I'm glad that the newsreader "orgasms" in the movie, so to point out that the men weren't completely sexually dominant, but I still find it fascinating that those men were able to climax in VERY believable fashions! (isn't it said somewhere that men can't give faked orgasms?)In addition, I loved the intimacy with which the camera explored both men's bodies. Even if the genitalia wasn't shown (it didn't necessarily NEED to be shown, as their voices were enough), the images of their feet, legs, buttocks, and chests was VERY enticing, as well as lovingly portrayed. Both men are considered to be "unattractive" by the masses, being "lumpy," overweight, and lacking in muscular tone. But I found them beautiful in the same natural way that people like James Broughton and Walt Whitman prove. I'm not sure if Svankmajer agrees, but he clearly shows the beauty of the male body in such sensual, loving and erotic ways. As a closing note, the guy playing Beltinsky has probably the most BEAUTIFUL feet of any Czech actor.Wow, can't believe I said all that, but then again, this movie DOES spark interesting feelings! ;) Write me if you feel similarly!