Paints

Albert has perceived the world through colours since childhood. For him, they symbolize human moods and help him to orient himself in society and relationships. Two of his best friends are blue, his dream girl Tereza glows yellow, while his rival Patrick is red. The problem for Albert, however, is self-determination. For he mixes two colours, the analytical blue and the playful yellow. As Albert grows up, he tries out other colours: activist orange, ambitious purple and apathetic green. But he doesn't feel like himself in any of them. And he constantly encounters red, which both frightens and attracts him. Paints is an auteur film by Martin Živocký in which he explores the human desire for a more simple view of the world.

Director’s statement
Paints thematises the tendency of humans to create constructs about the world and themselves. In the case of Albert, our hero, this construct is the colour theory into which he tries to fit his life.

The film takes place in Albert's subjective world, where each person is assigned one of three colours to express his or her character and emotions. It all begins in Albert's childhood when the world still seems legible. The thoughtful and calm friends are blue, the dazzling Teresa, who is friendly and cheerful, is yellow, and the aggressive bully Patrick is red. Over time, however, the colours begin to mix in Albert himself, and more intensely as his character changes as he grows up. When he reaches adolescence, his moods quickly shift and he loses his bearings. In adulthood, he finally realizes that his schematizing view of the world is not working, and he must perceive people in their complexity.