: The most visually astonishing of Svankmajer's films, and a pessimistic comment on the possibility of dialogue-both personal and political. But at the same time, the film depicts the very materiality of existence-the idea of all objects being reducible to a primal sludge, the Sartrean sticky viscosity of being itself. To this extent the film is a reminder of the alienation rooted in the nature of reality itself, thus striking a deeper chord than any sarcasm aimed at social alienation.