Conspirators of Pleasure

A delightful and humorous celebration of sexual fetishes, as practiced by solitary people trying to get beyond social repression to create pleasure; a rare live action offering from Czech animator Jan Svankmajer. The brilliant Czech animator Jan Svankmajer makes films that explore the nether reaches of our minds and behavior, with a sensibility so odd that it’s unclassifiable. His 1996 film Conspirators of Pleasure is one of his forays into live action (although animation eventually plays a part). The theme is fetishism, but the treatment is anything but salacious. We first follow the mysterious activities of a balding, reclusive man…