Opening with an absolutely breathtaking depiction of Eden, Vera Chytilova's Fruit of Paradise is an experimental retelling of Adam and Eve, used as an allegory for loss of innocence and how easily naivety can be consumed by darkness. The film opens in Eden, where our central characters, Josef and Eva, wander through the fall. The sequence is a stunning piece of art, for lack of a better word, as Vera Chytilova superimposes images of brown, yellow, and red leaves over these two characters, a beautiful and powerful way of expressing their inner peace, innocence and the idea that they are truly one with nature. After the opening we are introduced to fully clothed versions of Eva and Josef, who appear to be spending time at some type of resort, one filled with complacent individuals who all become enamored with Robert, a mysterious man who always appears to be wearing a vibrant red suit. Vera Chytilova's Fruit of Paradise is not an easy film to decipher. The film seems to have something to say about communism and its ability to consume those individuals naive enough to let it take hold, as Robert, seems to be the symbolic representation of this. Eva is a character who slowly finds her self pulled away from her philosophical husband in Josef, enamored by the cheap allure of Robert, regardless of the fact that he himself is most likely a serial killer of sorts. I love Vera Chytilova's use of color throughout Fruit of Paradise, as Eva is a character who is almost always in some form of white shrouds, a visual representation of innocence. As she becomes closer with Robert, and falls further away from the intellectual Josef, Eva's clothing begins to slowly change, with red slowly beginning to appear as part of her ensemble. Vera Chytilova's film seems to use the story of Adam & Eve as an allegory for the dangers of communism, with Eva representing the gross populace, individuals who can easily be manipulated by the communist party due to their nativity. Fruit of Paradise features some truly haunting sequences throughout, with Chytilova combing what appears to be some form of handheld with speed ramped sequences that capture the frantic essence of a woman who slowly finds herself consumed by darkness. Vera Chytilova's Fruit of Paradise is the type of film which one needs to simply let the images flow over them, as Vera Chytilova has created a film that is more symbolic than connectionist, a film that is meant to be felt.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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