The ‘insectuous’ brothers: Karel Čapek’s and Jan Švankmajer’s avantgardism(s) and the limits of humanism

Abstract

Jan Švankmajer’s recent Insect (Hmyz, 2018) is a work of film adaptation which functions as both an homage to Karel (and Josef) Čapek’s problematic avant-gardism and critique of some of the Čapek brothers’ own compromises during the production of their play, From the Life of the Insects (Ze života hmyzu, 1922). In the light of Švankmajer’s homage and critique, the article revisits Čapek’s avant-gardism and seeks to recuperate some of the more radical, and easily overlooked, aspects in Čapek’s work in the early 1920s. It goes on to discuss Švankmajer’s own career of multiple film adaptations, before concluding with a critical evaluation of his latest (and arguably last) Čapek-inspired film, read within the context of Švankmajer’s liberational cinematic project.