Insects

The final film of world renowned director, Jan Švankmajer.

A small-town pub. Closed. Chairs legs-up on the tables. Insect costumes hang on hangers: a skirt of tissue paper, cardboard butterfly wings, beetle shells gleaming black or colorfully painted. Six amateur actors sit at a table in the corner of the room: Růžena, the director, Mr. Václav, Mr. Borovička, Mr. Kopřiva the railway man, and Miss Jitka. The Traveler is at home in bed with sciatica. Mrs. Dung-beetle and Chrysalis have yet to arrive. Throughout rehearsal the lives of the actors blend with those of Čapek’s characters. The director/Mr. Cricket torments Mr. Václav, his wife’s lover. Mr. Kopřiva/Parasite devours Miss Jitka/Larva. Mr. Borovička transforms into such a convincing dung-beetle he never retakes human form. Creatures are born and creatures die throughout the rehearsal, and time is of little relevance. All the while, the events take place on the backdrop of Čapek’s play where insects act like humans and humans like insects.