Surviving Life (Theory and Practice)

Director Jan Svankmajer offers a sly, self-deprecating introduction that frames the film as a crafted paper-cutout world rather than live action. The opening sets a dreamlike tone that invites quiet contemplation rather than immediate spectacle. It establishes a metafictional mood that recurs throughout the story.

In the city, Evžen carries a colossal egg which disturbs everyday life. A woman mistakes him for a man named Milan and Milada becomes entangled in the moment when the egg teeters and rolls away. A casual coffee plan with Milada and with Eva seems almost within reach, but reality snaps back when Evžen is jolted awake by his wife.

Awakening in his bed, Evžen finds Milada nearby and learns the encounter was only a dream. He longs for a reunion with the mysterious woman from the dream and begins to imagine possibilities beyond his wife. The longing leads to the formation of a ritual that promises another dream.

To trigger a new dream, Evžen follows a coworker's advice to overeat and push his body toward sleep. The dream returns with the woman now named Eliza inviting him into her world. He travels with her to her dwellings, dances, and notes the scars on her wrists from a past suicide attempt.

In the dream world Eliza's circle grows to include her son Peter and an elderly homeless woman representing the superego, while Peter’s father Milan bears an uncanny resemblance to Evžen. Evžen dances through the dream and becomes aware of the creeping overlap between his waking life and the nocturnal world. The dream figures recur as a haunting chorus that links past and present.

Seeking insight, Evžen turns to psychoanalytic theory with Dr. Holubová who analyzes his dreams through Freudian and Jungian symbolism. The psychiatrist frames the nocturnal visits as expressions of desire, guilt, and the psyche's push-pull. The dialogue introduces a clinical lens that anchors the otherwise dreamlike sequence.

Returning to the dream, Peter vanishes and the dream woman becomes Emily, who strangely has no memory of her son. Emily's amnesia shifts the stakes and deepens the mystery of their bond. The dream world grows more unstable as Evžen tries to hold onto meaning.

Milan confronts Evžen in the dream and a fatal accident ensues when Milan trips on Peter's blocks and dies after striking his head. The death intensifies the collision between dream and reality and raises the danger of losing the waking life completely. The scene marks a turning point in Evžen's obsession.

Evžen resolves to lucid dream more deliberately, funding his explorations with lottery winnings and purchasing a book on lucid dreaming. He becomes distracted from work and is fired for reading something unrelated at his desk. The boundary between his job and his dreams begins to fray as his double life intensifies.

While exploring late mother's belongings, Evžen finds items that Emily also owns, including a red dress and a crocodile-skin bag, hinting at a deeper, shared past. This discovery deepens the connection between his waking history and the dream life. The echoes of family history begin to blur the lines between memory and fantasy.

He learns to induce a dream state every time he sleeps by following the methods in the book and rents a private apartment to dream without interruption. He returns nightly to Evženie, the woman who now inhabits his imagination, and together they even conceive a child within the dream world. The implausible stability of this lucid life challenges the boundaries of reality.

Milada tracks him to Dr. Holubová’s practice and confronts the doctor about his secret life. After learning of the parallel life she confronts Evženie in the dream world and scolds her for stealing Evžen. The scene juxtaposes waking suspicion with dream world intimacy.

Back in waking life Evžen discovers a photograph of Evženie, Peter, and Milan with the photographer Fikejz. Miroslav Vrba pieces together that the photo reveals a younger version of Evžen and his family, exposing a history his waking self never understood. He learns that his father died just as Milan did and that his mother slit her wrists in the bath, echoing the dream imagery.

Armed with the truth, Evžen returns home with Milada and confronts the choice between his dream partner and his wife. He ultimately chooses Evženie, signaling a decisive turn toward the dream life. The film leaves the two intertwined worlds on a fragile balance rather than a neat resolution.

In Evženie's dream, a giant version of Evžen slits her wrists in a dramatic bathtub scene, a stark image of vulnerability and fate. Evžen collapses in tears as Evženie places him in the bath and teaches him how to swim through the red, seaborne water. The closing vision suggests that to live is to navigate between two intertwined worlds, and that love may endure even as the boundary between imagination and life dissolves.