A delve into ego, obsession and self-value, Martin Mareček’s fly-on-the-wall examination of the life of Czech film critic Kamil Fila veers between an appreciation of his need to examine and challenge his own physical and mental notions of what and who he is with a underlying sense that his self-obsession is at odds with the persona that he wants to project to the outside world.
A self-acclaimed “feminist” who also stalks an ex-girlfriend and a would-be intellectual who sees a link between himself (because of the loneliness he feels due to his writing and his body building) and the cinematic superheroes he has to sometimes review, Kamil is a complex character who admits to depression and mental issues while also pushing to develop himself.
Certainly the film, which world premiered at Ji.hlava, is very raw and the film’s subject should receive credit for honestly allowing this examination of his private life.
The journey can be uncomfortable for the viewer at times – and it is easy to question just what Kamil Fila is getting out of the exercise – but the film is also absorbing and very watchable. Simple in form and structure (and oddly without any real sense of resolution) it traces a period in the life of a man who wants to be “more,” both physically and mentally, but struggles to find the best route.
The film opens with him in a television studio sporting a tight T-shirt that is his go-to attire. He is asked just why Star Wars is such a massive success, and stroking his chin talks about the “notion about being the chosen one…but at the same time anyone can be endowed with the force.” The film then cuts to him lifting weights.
The film flits between his desire to improve himself physically through weights and gym work – he tells his doctor he wants to try performance enhancing drugs to test his potential for physical growth – and his relationships with girlfriends, family and his young daughter Adina. We see footage of him expounding his views on feminism and picking up the 2018 Genderman of the Year Award for his “long-term efforts to debunk myths about feminism,” and for promoting equality in essays like ‘Why I am a Feminist.’ We also see him sat outside an ex-girlfriend’s flat and employing a private detective to find out about her possible new boyfriend.
There is perhaps an opportunity missed (though it is touched upon) to look more into the notion of Czech masculinity and attitudes, but in the end the delve into the ever-complex life of Kamil Fila offers plenty to think about. His self-obsessiveness clearly hampers relationships, though luckily his straight-talking female editor (and her several large dogs) is always there to deliver hard truths. And the final scene, in which see him ambling through sunny meadows with his daughter and a new partner, all the time attacked by mosquitos, suggests that all is still not perfect in his world.
Czech Republic, 2021, 91mins
Dir: Martin Mareček
Cinematography: Jiri Malek
Editor: Jana Vlckova
Music: Jan Burian
