''Zizek!'' or ''Žižek!'' is a 2005

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by Astra Taylor. An international co-production of the United States and Canada, its subject is philosopher and psychoanalyst

Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek ( ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian Marxist philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is the international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, Global Distin ...

, a prolific author and former candidate for the Presidency of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. ''Zizek!'' premiered at the

2005 Toronto International Film Festival The 30th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8–17 and screened 335 films from 52 countries - 109 of these films were world premieres, and 78 were North American premieres. Awards At the Festival's closing event, the following ...

on September 11, 2005, and opened in one theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on November 17. It eventually grossed $20,177 in the US and $20,154 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $40,331.

Critical reception

A. O. Scott of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' observed, "Ms. Taylor, clearly thrilled by her proximity to her hero, seems incapable of the analytical distance that would provide insight into either his ideas or the cultural phenomenon he represents. On the basis of this film, it is hard to know whether Mr. Žižek's superstar status is merited, or to say what his cult says about the state of contemporary thought. ''Zizek!'' is entertaining without being especially illuminating." Eddie Cockrell of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film a "verbose profile" of Žižek containing "a lot of esoteric, eccentric theories, and little context within his globetrotting life." Sean Axmaker of the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. Th ...

'' graded the film B and said it "attempts to put Žižek's philosophy into practical, accessible terms. Accessible, of course, being a relative term — key concepts are dropped through the film in snippets and sound bites that are gone before you've had a chance to really chew them over. You may not grasp his ideological philosophy, but you'll have a good time making the attempt."

Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' rated the film three out of five stars, adding he thought it "doesn't quite have the interest and focus of

Sophie Fiennes Sophie Fiennes (born 12 February 1967) is an English filmmaker best known for her films '' Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami'' (2017) and '' Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow'' (2010), as well as for her collaborations with philosopher Slavoj Ži� ...

' recent Žižek documentary, '' The Pervert's Guide to Cinema''."

Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for '' The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has contributed to ...

: "his frenetic and lucid manner is neatly captured by the jazzy style of director Astra Taylor." Zizek!
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References

External links

* * * {{Metacritic film 2005 films American documentary films Canadian documentary films 2005 documentary films Documentary films about Slavoj Žižek Documentary films about philosophers Films about philosophy 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films Films produced by Lawrence Konner English-language documentary films English-language Canadian films

Critical reception

See also

References

External links