Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Functioning mainly as a mixture of three demented masters of art (these "heroes" of mine being Edgar Allan Poe, the Marquis de Sade, and Jan Svankmajer), "Lunacy" portrays a world of hopeless depravity. Demented desires are shown to be hidden within those one both extremes of the social spectrum. "Lunacy" is a film that lives up to its title, showcasing a world of idiocy, chaos, and oppression.In his brilliant introduction, Svankmajer claims that this is a film inspired by the works of both Edgar Allan Poe and the Marquis de Sade. Being a fan of both authors, this only further fueled my fascination with the film. Poe's tortured soul often dominates the more melancholic and moody sections of such a masterwork, as well as largely inspiring the overall story. de Sade's sick spirit shines even brighter as Svankmajer displays the perverted sexual acts and desires performed by a common libertine. His surreal lens not flinching one bit, blasphemous rituals of twisted eroticism are performed in a way both chilling and occasionally amusing. Further mirroring de Sade's unconventional brilliance are the nihilistic philosophical musings of the film's own marquis, a man who refuses to hide his perverted desires, hatred for Mother Nature, and disdain for religion. While juggling the atmospheres of ever impending doom and inescapable tragedy, "Lunacy" also manages to be one of the funniest movies of the century so far. Without fail, Svankmajer slyly mocks society using both grotesque horror and riotous black humor. Gags fill up Svankmajer's cinematic canvas like his character of the marquis' sperm does the inside of his sexual victims. Here, hilarity comes in many (often absolutely absurdist) forms, from slapstick to social commentary. Densely layered, Svankmajer's film crowds itself with much comic insanity by the second half. Many sequences work as both scenes of sadistic horror and gross out humor, so never be afraid to burst with laughter despite the urge to spray puke all over the movie screen like a hose.

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

When Jan Svankmajer lets his imagination run wild, get ready. You're in for dark, harrowing films like "Alice" and "Little Otik," or short gems such as "Down to the Cellar" and "Jabberwocky." All of those are excellent films that represent disturbing, surrealistic film-making at its best.On the other hand, when Svankmajer attempts to make a political statement of any kind, you're advised to leave the room in a hurry. Svankmajer's films in this vein tend to be both adolescent and preachy, presenting straw-man caricatures in repetitious fashion to express his pseudo-brilliant insights."Lunacy," unfortunately, is very much this latter type of movie. Cartoonish ideas and characters are stretched paper-thin for an appalling two hours. There are a few moments that briefly hold interest, but these few oases are separated by vast deserts of boredom.If you found Svankmajer's dreadful, monotonous short film "Et Cetera" brilliant and hilarious, you'll probably love "Lunacy." If you've never seen a Svankmajer film before, please start elsewhere.

Edgar Allen Poe. The Marquis de Sade. Jan Svankmajer. If you're familiar with any of those people, and enjoy their work (or even if you don't enjoy it but you still understand what they do), then you are pretty much obligated to see this movie. If you like all those artists, then you've probably already seen it and this review is redundant.Jan Svankmajer's job in this movie is to take the theme of the lunatics running the asylum to a new extreme--hopefully to the limit, as I wouldn't want to watch what anybody would try to do further. A young man named Jean Berlot has recurring dreams of being stuck in an insane asylum, and unfortunately for him these dreams attract the attention of a mysterious Marquis who's out to help "cure" a new friend. The Marquis, however, has his own, let's call 'em, "extreme philosophies." If the storyline isn't enough, the transitions between scenes are animated with pounds of animal meat.Jan Svankmajer calls this his horror movie, and once again he shows a large amount of craftiness behind his impressions. The first two acts of the movie are so absurd they're mostly comedic, but the third act is surprisingly disturbing. You'd be surprised which characters you end up caring about and which characters you end up hating. In the end it becomes a question of how to choose your own insanity... because in a world where insanity exists sanity seems to take fifth pier.One of the more revealing parts of this movie involves its anachronism. The wooden sets are filled with timeless pieces, the gray weather can be representative or give off a feeling of a period piece, and the Marquis and Jean's journey in the coach crosses Bubonic plague-style imagery with freeways. What's more terrifying about this scene when one thinks about it later on is how even outside of the insane asylum there doesn't seem to be any sense of normalcy.Which is one of the things that is hard about this movie. Jean's delusions and his light obsessiveness makes him an untrustworthy narrator in a world where it seems like every single character harbors some maladjustment. Structurally speaking, it's unproductive to make insane characters populate an insane world without any norm for the audience to build on. For this foundation, Svankmajer seems to rely entirely on the audience, which works amazingly well. Watching this movie, for me, was even more enjoyable while hearing the laughs and moans of the people in the theatre around me. However the real drama in this film seemed to come from my own sense of values and reality desperately trying to find a handhold within the philosophies projected within the narrative. In the end the subjectivity of reality becomes more an issue of choosing one's own insanity.--PolarisDiB