''Lunacy'' ( cs, Šílení) is a 2005 Czech film by
Jan Švankmajer
Jan Švankmajer (; born 4 September 1934) is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his stop-motion animations and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as Ter ...
. The film is loosely based on two short stories, "
The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" (1845) and "
The Premature Burial" (1844), by
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
. It is also partly inspired by the works of the
Marquis de Sade. The film was shot between October 2004 and April 2005, on location in the village of
Peruc
Peruc (german: Perutz) is a market town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,300 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
The villages of Černochov, Hřivčice, Chrastín, Pátek, Radonice nad Ohří, St ...
close to Prague, and in Švankmajer's studio in the village of
Knovíz.
Plot summary
Jean Berlot (Liska) is a deeply troubled man who has been haunted by violent hallucinations of being stuffed into a
straitjacket by two orderlies since the death of his mother, who was committed to a mental institution before she passed on. While arranging his mother's funeral, Jean meets a fellow who claims to be the Marquis de Sade (Triska) and lives as if he is in
18th-century France rather than the 21st-century Czech Republic. Jean strikes up an alliance with the Marquis, though they can hardly be called friends, but is horrified by the Marquis' debauchery, namely the blasphemous orgy that Jean spies through an open window. The Marquis drops dead after choking on a banana the following day, and Jean is ordered at gunpoint to assist the servant Dominik (Nový) in burying the coffin in the family
mausoleum. The next morning Jean and Dominik are awakened by a
bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...
, and after opening the stone of the mausoleum, the Marquis reveals it had all been an elaborate prank. His mother had died after being buried alive, and he finds it therapeutic to relive this childhood memory that haunts him.
The Marquis suggests a therapy that could help with Jean's nightmares: voluntarily committing himself to an asylum managed by his friend Dr. Murlloppe (Dusek), who offers "Purgative Therapy" for people who are not mad but could be in the future. Jean falls for a beautiful nurse named Charlota (Geislerova), who claims she is being held at the hospital against her will, and reveals that Murlloppe and the Marquis were previous patients who led a revolt and locked the real asylum employees in the basement. The Marquis tells Jean that Charlota is a "
nymphomaniac" and likes to tell complex fabricated stories as a form of foreplay. On the one year anniversary of their revolt, Murlloppe, the Marquis, and Dominik take Charlota with them for a ritual orgy, and Charlota tells Jean it is his only chance to free the staff. Jean finds them
tarred and feathered
Tarring and feathering is a form of public torture and punishment used to enforce unofficial justice or revenge. It was used in feudal Europe and its colonies in the early modern period, as well as the early American frontier, mostly as a t ...
in the basement, and releases the men, who waste no time in beating all the patients and shoving them back into their cells. Dr. Coulmiere thanks Jean for releasing them, and explains his philosophy that
corporal punishment is key to treating mental illness by balancing the mind and the body, and that Murlloppe's idea of curing it with "freedom" is absurd. Murlloppe, the Marquis, and Dominik are tracked down and are each given severe punishments. Now that Charlota has been rescued, Jean expects to leave with her and get married, but Dr. Coulmiere will not permit Jean to leave until 8am, per the usual protocol. Jean has trouble sleeping, and seeks out Charlota for comfort, but her room is empty. He finds her in Dr. Coulmiere's room preparing for a night of sexual pleasures. This sets off one of his violent hallucinations, and Dr. Coulmiere eventually has to intervene. He orders the first round of corporal punishment treatment: two orderlies stuff Jean into a straitjacket and carry him away.
Cast
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Jan Tříska
Jan Tříska (; 4 November 1936 – 25 September 2017) was a Czech actor who played over 160 roles across stage, film, and television. He worked in the United States after emigrating there in the 1970s, but later returned to his native country fo ...
... Marquis
*
Pavel Liška
Pavel Liška (born 29 January 1972) is a Czech actor. He has appeared in more than fifty films since 1997.
Selected filmography
References
External links
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1972 births
Living people
Czech male film actors
Janáček Academy of Musi ...
... Jean Berlot
*
Anna Geislerová ... Charlota
*
Martin Huba
Martin Huba (born 16 July 1943 in Bratislava) is a Slovak actor and director on stage and in film.
In 1964 he graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU). He joined the Východoslovenské štátne divadlo (Košice Stat ...
... Dr. Coulmiere
*
Jaroslav Dušek ... Dr. Murlloppe
*
Pavel Nový ... Servant Dominik
*
Stano Danciak ... Innkeeper
*
Jiří Krytinář ... Reciting Madman
*
Katerina Růžičková ... Asylum inmate
*
Iva Littmanová ... Asylum inmate
*
Kateřina Valachová ... Asylum inmate
*
Josef Kašpar ... Insane erotomaniac
*
Miroslav Navrátil ... Dream warden
*
Jirí Maria Sieber ... Dream warden
*
Ctirad Götz ... Ostler
Box office
The film grossed $48,324 in the US and $85,658 from foreign markets for a grand total of $133,982.
References
External links
*
Lunacy' at
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
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{{Jan Svankmajer
2005 films
Czech animated films
2000s Czech-language films
Films based on works by Edgar Allan Poe
Films based on works by the Marquis de Sade
Films directed by Jan Švankmajer
Films with live action and animation
2000s stop-motion animated films
Czech horror films
Films based on multiple works
Films based on short fiction
Surrealist films
Czech Lion Awards winners (films)
Sun in a Net Awards winners (films)
Slovak animated films
Slovak horror films
Czech animated horror films
Czech adult animated films