Jan Saudek: v pekle svych vasni, raj v nedohlednu [Jan Saudek: Trapped by his Passions, No Hope for Rescue]

Description

This full-length documentary film provides a personally truthful yet harsh life story of a hero and dropout. Jan Saudek became a world-renowned photographer, winning international awards and being exhibited abroad, long before he had gained recognition in his native country. With its creative approach, this documentary does not claim to adhere to the textbook forms of the genre. It tries to handle it freely, in order to portray and interpret the complete complexity of the artist’s personality. Each of the three interconnected plotlines tells the story of another world. The one in color refers to the films, clean and seemingly realistic, recounting and presenting factual information. The black-and-white film is concerned with the inner self of the photographer, which is why the camera never meets him face-to-face. And the raw documentary camera in the hands of the director himself maps out the intimate moments where no film-maker has so far been permitted to tread; the moments when Jan Saudek experiences his intellectual, sensual, and sexually rich “orgies”. Likewise, though, he witnesses the genuine sentiments, true happiness, and genuine loneliness of a genius. Filmmaker and director Adolf Zika relies heavily upon his personal acquaintance with the portrayed photographer, but, in spite of the fact that he greatly venerates him, the narration is far from being oversimplified in presenting the truths about this controversial master of photography. Along with the viewer, he attempts to look behind the artist’s mask, even at the price of a painful revelation – to get to the very core of these “truths”. English subtitles. PAL formatting.