Surrealistic Versions of John Paul II. Two Films – About Theatres, and not Only – “Featuring” the Pope

Abstract

The subject of this paper are such surrealistic films as Conspirators of Pleasure (Czech: Spiklenci slasti, by Jan Švankmajer, 1996) and Being John Malkovich (by Spike Jonze, 1999), in which John Paul II is featured in the form of a montage, and theatre also plays an important role, as either one of the leading topics or else as an artistic convention. The author questions the sense of these references and what can they possibly communicate.

In both of the films analysed, the interpolations of John Paul II usually break out of the normal order of things; they are additions to the represented world, elements of another reality, and thus constitute a perfect component of surrealist art, which aims – among other things – to increase confusion by the intentional incongruity of the elements presented. In these montages, John Paul II becomes an icon of seriousness, gravitas and the most important events in the world, but also a sort of “star,” a celebrity, a media person. The clash between this gravitas and the grotesque world of the movie characters often elicits dissonance and confusion, as both movies are concerned with yielding to various, sometimes completely absurd, passions. In Conspirators of Pleasure this means – above all – erotic and sexual desires; in Being John Malkovich – a desire for success and fame (apart from various configurations of sensual lust). Additionally, there is the clearly emphasised dream of being somebody else, as well as dreams of earthly immortality. John Paul II did not share such dreams, believing that the most important things are conforming to God’s will, one’s self-esteem in the light of the evangelical truth about Transcendence and Christ’s love towards men, and the “return to oneself” – playing one’s own role, not somebody else’s. The Pope exemplified with his own life how to go beyond one’s own habits, how to worship God above everything else, how to respond to other people, defeat egoism and resign from comfort, and how to live a real life in a real space, not an illusory one, unlike the characters in the above-mentioned movies.