You Bet Your Life

(Spiele Leben) Director: Antonin Svoboda, RAK - ŠVÝ, 2005, German version / English subtitles, 95 min

Kurt is a manipulative compulsive gambler whose life is spiralling out of control. His existence revolves around money: winning it, losing it, borrowing it, paying it back. He hustles, schemes and dreams day in and day out, but Kurt’s all-consuming addiction jeopardizes his relationship with his girlfriend, Manu. After seeing a TV special about Mozart’s legendary system of composing music using dice, Kurt vows to let the dice determine every choice he will make hereafter. A man with no limits or discipline, he makes the extreme decision to put his very life on the line by allowing dice to dictate his destiny. You Bet Your Life is an intense examination of what happens when a man stops playing by society’s rules and leaves his fate to chance.