MWFF 2016: Tiger Theory

TIGER THEORY/TEORIE TYGRA

WORLD COMPETITION

DIRECTOR: Radek Bajgar

PRODUCER:Petr Erben

SCRIPT: Radek Bajgar, Mirka Zlatnikova

MUSIC: Jiri Hajek

COUNTRY: Czech Republic; 102 min.
LANGUAGE: Czech, English subtitles

Official Synopses:

"Can a timid and domesticated bunny morph into a feral tiger? Henpecked veterinarian Jan sets off on a journey to reclaim his freedom and answer the question."

Tiger Theory is an exceptionally funny and entertaining film. During my years of covering the Montreal World Film Festival, I never heard so much laughter from the audience, the constant bursts of hilarious laughter, as during the projection of this film last night. Yet this was not a mindless laughter. Paradoxically, I could even refer to this film as a comic "tragedy", as it touches on core issues of family relationships, marriage ties, and the commitment constrains people face, or rather, that wives impose upon their husbands. The last night's laughter from the audience was rooted in peoples' recognition of those issues in their personal lives, and represented a kind of a personal catharses for them, an emotional release of old stuck family issues they had held inside for a long time. 

The film is about a man's need for his personal space within a committed relationship, his "liberty", so he can reconnect to himself, to the core of his being, to who he truly is. The next film, the director told the audience after the projection of the film, will be about how to "liberate" a woman, the space a woman needs within the relationship to be a more complete and stronger human being. I am certain that everybody at the film's screening last night will be eagerly awaiting the release of that next film! 

Tiger Theory is a very clever and sharply intelligent film which deals with serious life situations and issues with the specific Czech sense of humour that the majority of people will relate to and will find not only entertaining and funny but also deeply meaningful. I highly recommend this film.

FILM TRAILER