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Slavoj Zizek

The author of works on subjects as wide-ranging as Alfred Hitchcock, 9/11, opera, Christianity, Lenin and David Lynch, Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek is one of the most important -- and outrageous...( read more  read more... ) -- cultural theorists working today. This captivating, erudite documentary explores the eccentric personality and esoteric work of this incomparable academic and writer, who has been called everything from "the Elvis of cultural theory" to "a one-person culture mulcher."

Flixster Users

74% liked it

733 ratings

Critics

62% liked it

13 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 11 min.

Directed by: Astra Taylor

Release Date: November 17, 2005

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DVD Release Date: July 25, 2006

Stats: 88 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (88)

  • doctorburglary
    August 6, 2009
    doctorburglary
    this isnt a particularly skillful documentary but i enjoyed it for its subject matter which is- slavoj zizek, a lacanian marxist philosopher/psychoanalyst from slovenia (one of the ex-yugoslavia states in the balkans), well known in contemporary post-marxist circles around the wo...( read more)rld .. what astra taylor is basically doing is following zizek around like a privileged student (with some additional crew of course) and observing (taping) him talking in various situations and surroundings (lectures, home "privacy", restaurant etc.) and what makes this documentary worth watching is zizek himself, or rather his performing persona, the man does some long talks/ramblings about various topics that hes obsessed with in his books (notion of belief in todays capitalist society, superego and enjoyment, understanding marx trough lacan, "the end of history" and possibility of a revolution today etc.) but he does that in his familiar "humorous" way (with a straight face) exploiting his east-european accent pretty much, showing off his stalin poster in his flat, making a levi-straussian ideological analysis of the main toilet models in europe ,analyzing his little sons toy positioning as "pro-feminin, progressive, lesbian" etc. zizek more than once admited that hes flirting with this vulgar pop culture-mulcher "from abroad" image he has and that he finds dealing with hegel, marx, freud, kierkegaard, butler, fukuyama, foucault etc. trough analyzing hollywood soap opera hits combined with contemporary political events and say contemporary art scene a challenge for him to try express his lacan influenced agenda in common, everyday terms, that would be more understandable to the listener/reader less familiar with strict philosophical/psychoanalytical terms, its attention holding and still decently resembling of the more complex writings in his books (in which he also uses examples such as ones refering to mel gibson and ,say,chocolate laxative quite often).. zizek also, a bit like chesterton is using paradoxes heavily in his work, making claims that are very often starting by sentences that are defying our common-sense expectations and then going into further development as well as stating something that is taken for granted in todays philosophical circles and then proceeding with his famous "..but isnt it almost the opposite!?".. on the surface his style resembles one in which a lot of todays postmodernist essays are written but he tries to use it to problematize a lot of todays thought- of being in an post-ideological era, tolerance, transgressiveness, relativism, fundamentalism, legacy of 1968, atheism, radical emancipatory politics etc. even when you dont agree with what he says his view on things, unique yet with quite a lot of quotations and clear references, full of sincere provocations, uninterested in claims of originality- may be of use in your everyday decoding of ideological machinery as well as theoretical work..
    so if you are interested in the state of todays philosophy, this hitchcock admiring self proclaimed lacanian stalinist/christian materialist/orthodox marxist "joker" is certainly one of its representatives worth checking out, if not trough his various books or essays then at least trough several documentaries done with him already..
  • onefinalhit
    December 12, 2007
    onefinalhit
    The man's lectures are as profound and confusing as his personality is eccentric. This film however, is nothing more than a camera crew following him around for a short while. The editor then slaps together footage of some of his lectures, some of his personal life and passes it ...( read more)off as a documentary. This needs much more focus and context. It veers between documentary and lecture series and ends extremely abruptly. If it's subject wasn't someone as interesting I would have lost interest in the first 10 minutes.
  • radicalgeography
    June 11, 2007
    radicalgeography
    Brilliant, insightful, hilarious, irreverent, and charismatic are not enough to describe this increasingly popular Lacanian/Marxist philosopher that is the backbone of the film. Treat yourself to an intellectual roller-coaster dealing with wide ranging topics such as "enjoyment" ...( read more)viewed as a political category, the everyday mechanics of psychoanalytic theory, to the politics of apparent tolerance/choice. His Lacanian reading of Marx is original and by no means mechanistic or what is generally accused of Marxists as being economic determinists. The original score is by Jeremy Barnes (from a hawk and a hacksaw): a musician fluent not only in traditional Hungarian folk, but also in jazz and minimalism. The palette of musical styles alone is worth re-watching this film many times over. - Antony Chum, June 6, 2007

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Critic Reviews

November 17, 2005
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

If you see only one documentary about a Slovene philosopher this year, it will most likely be Astra Taylor's brisk little film Zizek!

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