"Mushi": What Jan Svankmajer carved into his final feature film

*This article contains detailed information about the film, so please be careful if you have not seen it yet.

Synopsis of "Mushi"

A small-town amateur theater troupe is working on "The Predators," the second act of the Capek brothers' famous play, "The Life of Insects." The director, who also plays the role of the Cricket, is furious at the lack of enthusiasm of the members, who are often late or absent. As rehearsals progress in an uneasy atmosphere, the play's development and the actors' actions eventually intersect, leading to a tragedy on stage!

Index

• Švankmajer's last feature film
• The moment the boundary between story and reality collapses
• Unconsciously conveying Arrival
• Refusing interpretation, heading towards a place that is not understood

Švankmajer's last feature film

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The Czech animation world has produced such greats as Jiri Trnka, Karel Zeman, Hermina Tyrlová, and Jiri Barta. One of these greats is Jan Švankmajer, an animation artist who has continued to express cutting-edge motifs with a particularly unique artistic style.

Like other filmmakers, Svankmajer deals with political themes, but his style, which leans towards surrealism, produces absurd developments and nonsensical endings, and while moving back and forth between live-action and animation, he often delves into the grotesque, drawing audiences into his own unique world. Svankmajer's "final feature film," "Mushi" (2018), has finally been released in Japan.

“Insect” © Athanor Ltd.

However, there are many parts of "Mushi" that are difficult to understand just by watching the film itself, and can be difficult to understand. Here, I would like to examine the content of the film while following in the footsteps of the master Švankmajer, focusing on his approach to the film and his references to his own work.

Karel and Josef Capek's 1921 play "The Life of Insects" satirizes the hierarchical system and selfishness in human society through the ecology of anthropomorphic insects. This production, "Insects," shows the rehearsals of an amateur theater troupe preparing to perform this play. The audience is simultaneously aware of the insect fable and the humans performing it.

The troupe members are generally unmotivated, forgetting their scripts during rehearsals, trying to flirt with each other, and even reading through the script while knitting. The director, who also plays the role of the cricket, is irritated throughout the performance. This situation gradually develops in a bizarre direction, involving the emotions and desires of the people involved.

The moment the boundary between story and reality collapses