In Svankmajer's opening comments before the film-he describes LUNACY as an homage to Edgar Allen Poe and the Marquis de Sade, tackling the idea of the breakdown of a mental-health facility. Specifically-the concepts of corporal punishment in such a setting, versus allowing total freedom amongst the inhabitants. An interesting concept that the director handles in a surreal, yet surprisingly straight-forward manner. Jean is a mentally disturbed young man, who during his travels back from the funeral of his mother who died in an insane asylum-is befriended (so to speak...) by an older eccentric gentleman who is identified as 'The Marquis'. The Marquis invites Jean back to his home-an invitation that Jean accepts. As the two get to know each other a little better-the Marquis seemingly takes an interest in Jean's mental-plight, and offers him the opportunity to voluntarily spend some time at an institution run by his pal. Again, Jean accepts-but very quickly learns that this particular asylum is not a 'norma'l mental health facility...it turns out that the patients have taken over and locked the doctors and caretakers in the basement. That is until Jean and his gal-pal Charlotte find a way to free them. The 'action' of the film is interspersed with Svankmajer's signature 'meat animations'-anyone familiar with his work knows what I'm talking about.First off-LUNACY is not a 'horror-film' in any traditional sense. There's no gore, no masked or deformed killer hacking people with axes or chainsaws. The 'horror' in LUNACY is much more subtle. On the surface is the theme that Svankmajer himself spoke of-the extreme differences in treatments and 'therapy' techniques within a mental institution. But beneath the surface-there are subtexts regarding the relative sanity of all people, and the ability for people to be completely manipulated by others. Pretty heady stuff-but in this film, Svankmajer handles the material deftly and the ideas conveyed never feel forced. I have to say that I've seen several of Svankmajer's films-and although I've enjoyed them all to one degree or another-LUNACY is the sharpest of his works in my opinion. There's definitely a bit of 'art-film' aesthetic to this work (as is the case with all of his films...)-but I don't feel that those aspects are too heavy-handed as to alienate potential viewers. I would suggest though that anyone who hasn't seen any of Svankmajer's works maybe start with LITTLE OTIK-a quirky and interesting film that should make a nice introduction into Svankmajer's 'world'. 8.5/10

This film is about the sadistic adventures of Marquis de Sade, and also the lunacy of two extreme ways of running a psychiatric asylum.I have seen Jan Svankmajer's films before, so I knew that this film would be bizarre and disturbing. Still, this film gravely shocked me. From the moving tongues to enucleation, this film was full of revolting and gory scenes. I almost felt sick during the film. I was also surprised to see a blasphemous scene involving a statue of crucifixion, which was shocking especially considering that the Czech Republic is a religious country.Fortunately, the story was gripping and engaging. It really kept me longing for more to unfold. Marquis' monologue questioning the existence of God was well composed, and gave new arguments (for me anyway) to the never ending debate of His existence. This film is not for the uptight or the light hearted.

The film is nice. I suppose that if I was wanting animation I would be disappointed; the crawling meat doesn't really do anything other than serve as a transition. And strictly speaking it isn't much of a gory horror film.I like the three part structure (at least, as another reviewer outlined the film) and it does a good job of twisting "Don't Look in the Basement;" it captures the same kind of feel. And that is no slam, either -- the film had a kind of low budget 1970s American horror film feel to it, yet it somehow makes that feel something appealing in a way that my body (to use the film's terminology) recalls from watching those kinds of films when I was young in the 1980s.For me, the movie had a useful feel to it; it also captures an image I agree with. It is hard to say what exactly he might mean when JS talks about our present situation embodying the worst aspects of both the asylum structures during the intro. Maybe it would help to tease them out in writing: on one hand, there is the libertine, who does whatever he wants and seems to take particular joy in blasphemy on the other hand, there is the vicious authoritarian doctor, who feels legitimate in enjoying torturing the inmates even if he ciphers that enjoyment through his medical practice.Maybe the doctor is a radical application of the libertine, if you can get around the fact that the mechanism which the libertine operates under discounts/deflates/undermines the violence the doctor seems to find so erotic. I can't make that move, and that is where I think the movie leads me: at some point, I am prejudiced towards libertine, if just because that kind of enjoyment makes it difficult to encode the suffering of others as a cipher of my own desire.That is the problem of the movie for me; I am so stuck in my liberalism, and I can't see how the authoritarian doctor isn't simply a radical, evil libertine: the "truth" of the libertine, if you will. Ther really is a difference between the two; I know that is a fact, if just because their enjoyment is so divergent (one only enjoys foreplay, and the other, only scopic sex). I guess that inability to see the doctor for the pathology he represents IS the problem, both of the film and our situation.

I just saw this film at the Montreal fantasia film festival. And this being Svankmajer's most recent film, I jumped for tickets. Absolutely amazing. Something of a political comment, the film show's us to ways of running an insane asylum. I have always loved Jan Svankmajer for his use of macabre animation (using raw meat, bones and eye balls). And it's use in context with 'Lunacy' is chilling. Truly one of the best horror films I've see all year. It's not the sort of horror that is entertaining to watch or bring your girlfriend. But if you love films and your looking for a horror film that will keep you thinking...then find a way to see this film.