Retrospective Series #4 - Czech It Out! (sorry)

Today's addition to the retrospective series is Vera Chytilová's Fruit of Paradise (Ovoce stromu rajských jíme), an under-celebrated masterpiece of feminist avant-garde from the Czech New Wave.  When I lived in Murfreesboro, TN, there was an after-work routine that I followed.  I would first visit Video Culture, a small independent DVD rental shop stocked full of cult classics, film noir, and porn (some films being a combination of all 3 categories).  This place played a significant role in my goal to view every Criterion Collection release (at the time I had gotten up to about 130 out of 300).  After I made a selection, I would pick up a bag of Taco Bell and then return to my crappy apartment to privately partake in my nightly ritual.  It was at Video Culture that I discovered Fruit of Paradise, re-released and subtitled on DVD by Facets.  At the time, and probably still today, the film was the most visually stunning and musically provocative that I had seen since Holy Mountain, and that's saying a lot.  The film starts with kaleidoscope psychedelics and a trippy song about Adam and Eve, which is loosely used as a metaphoric framework for the film's story.  In this modern-day tale (or as modern as the 70s go), Eva and her boyfriend are attending an outdoor day spa with an anonymous serial killer present among the attendees.  While the narrative is present and developing (and thoroughly whimsical), the film at no point holds your experience directly to it.  The film is so rich in every aspect, one can view it simply for its vivid imagery and soundtrack, which alone act as the best music video you've probably ever seen.  The director's tendency toward slapstick carries over to this film from her first, Daisies, her debut which cost her a sentence of no movie-making for decades by declaration of the Soviets (part of the reason why Fruit of Paradise is so rare).  I could go on about the film's unique score, variations of cinematography (inside the killer's house is done in stop-motion!), and so forth, but this is really one of those films that has to be experienced.  Recommended for fans of Mathew Barney, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Jean-Luc Godard.