Five Films That Will Help You Better Understand the Czech Republic
In the Czech language, there is a word, "lítost," which encompasses mourning for the departed, regret for missed opportunities, repentance for one's actions, and sympathy for those in distress. Milan Kundera believed that this word could characterize the Czech mentality.
He wrote:
"The history of the Czechs, the story of eternal uprisings against the powerful, a series of famous defeats that largely determined the course of world history and doomed their own people, is a history of 'lítost.' When in August 1968, thousands of Russian tanks invaded this small and beautiful country, I saw a slogan on the walls of a city: 'We don't want compromise, we want victory!' Understand: at that moment, it was a choice among several options of defeat, nothing more, but this city rejected compromise and desired victory! It was not the voice of reason but of 'lítost'!"
However, to better understand the Czech Republic, one word, even one as all-encompassing as this, is not enough. There is also Czech cinema.
"Loves of a Blonde" ("Lásky jedné plavovlásky"), directed by Miloš Forman, 1965
Many film enthusiasts tend to associate Miloš Forman as a director solely with the Oscar-winning films "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Amadeus" (some may even link him exclusively to his later works like "The People vs. Larry Flynt" and "Man on the Moon"). In reality, Miloš Forman's directorial journey begins with "Loves of a Blonde." This humorous and simultaneously very melancholic film, considered by film critics as one of the outstanding examples of the Czechoslovak "New Wave," was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. However, Forman's next film, "The Firemen's Ball," was censored for its satire on socialist structures, leading to the director's emigration to the United States.
If, tempted by the playful title of the film, you thought of Billy Wilder's "hot" blondes à la Marilyn Monroe or Hitchcock's "cold" blondes like Kim Novak, then in both cases, you missed the mark. The main character, Andula (played by Hana Brejchová, Forman's first wife's younger sister), is a naive factory worker in the provincial town of Zruč nad Sázavou, dreaming of great and pure love. The problem is that in a town mostly populated by female factory workers, eligible bachelors are scarce. To cheer up his female workers, the factory director arranges for a military unit to be temporarily stationed in the town. However, instead of fresh recruits, already well-worn married reservists arrive in Zruč. At a party held in their honor, Andula becomes infatuated with a young pianist invited as an accompanist and, after a night spent with the blonde, he goes back to Prague. Little did he know that a few days later, Andula would show up at his city apartment with all her belongings.
"Prague Nights" ("Pražské noci"), directed by Jiří Brdečka, Miloš Makovec, and Evald Schorm, 1966
The epithet "mystical" has long been firmly attached to the Czech capital, with literature playing a significant role in this perception. Gustav Meyrink's "The Golem" and "Walpurgis Night," Leo Perutz's "Nights Under the Stone Bridge" ("Nachts unter der steinernen Brücke"), and Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" ("Die Verwandlung") have all contributed to the mystification of Prague. Cinema has also played a part in mythologizing the city, with masterpieces of symbolism like "The Student of Prague" ("Der Student von Prag") and expressionism such as "The Golem, How He Came into the World" ("Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam"), produced in the early 20th century, significantly influencing how tourists perceive the city. In 1969, directors Jiří Brdečka, Miloš Makovec, and Evald Schorm decided to acquaint the audience with their own mystical Prague and the secrets hidden in its nocturnal streets. Together, they created a film consisting of four novellas, with one framing the others. Fabricius, a visiting businessman who has struck a lucrative deal, seeks entertainment. However, as socialist Prague lacks luxurious brothels, he must search for "adventures" on his own. After several unsuccessful attempts at seduction, he encounters the mysterious Zuzana, who travels with a personal chauffeur through the night streets of Prague in a splendid vintage car. To earn the favor of this enigmatic stranger, Fabricius must listen to three stories: the Golem and the confrontation between two great kabbalists, Yehudah Löw ben Betsal’el and Neftali Ben Chaim; the corrupt countess who decided to attend a masquerade ball wearing shoes made of bread; the tavern owner and her assistant, who killed guests for their wallets. However, when Prague's Scheherazade finishes her last tale, Fabricius, burning with passion, will face a rather unpleasant surprise.
It is worth noting that one of the directors of "Prague Nights," Jiří Brdečka, is the creator of the most famous Czech cinema cowboy, nicknamed Lemonade Joe (Limonádový Joe).
"Daisies" ("Sedmikrásky"), directed by Věra Chytilová, 1966
Today, this film is considered one of the key works of the Czech New Wave, and Věra Chytilová, who, before becoming a director, had experience as a model and a student at an architectural institute, is regarded as the grand dame of Czech cinema. Despite its uniqueness, Chytilová's film not only received enthusiastic reviews from leading European film critics but was also very well-received by Czech audiences (even praised by Milan Kundera), who were ready for rebellious and provocative cinematic experiments. The young and beautiful heroines of "Daisies," both named Marie, ignore the surrounding reality. Their own reality, shared between them, resembles a dream or a game with no rules or guidelines but plenty of absurdity. The girls refuse to live by accepted norms, believing that the human world is irreversibly corrupted. To conform to it, they must become even more corrupted. However, beneath this nihilistic credo are more childish pranks: the Maries ride in a food delivery elevator, deceive their suitors, swing from a chandelier, parade on a banquet table draped in lace curtains, or undress completely and modestly cover each other with butterfly boxes. Despite this explosive mix of mad Dadaism and naive theater, "Daisies" surprisingly exudes a peculiar, whimsical lyricism (critics consider it Chytilová's most charming film). Although there is room for feminism in the film - in one of its most famous scenes, the girls, batting their eyelashes, joyfully cut various phallic objects like bananas and sausages with scissors - the authorities and censors were outraged not by feminist symbolism or even nudity but by the amount of food and drink destroyed for the sake of a visually striking sequence. The film was partially withdrawn from distribution (shown only in small theaters), and after the Soviet Union's occupation of Czechoslovakia, "Daisies" was banned for many years.
"I Served the King of England" ("Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále"), directed by Jiří Menzel, 2006
If you ask Czechs which film best illustrates their mentality, they won't mention the numerous adaptations of Jaroslav Hašek's famous book about the adventures of the brave soldier Švejk. Instead, they would point to Jiří Menzel's film based on the novel by Bohumil Hrabal. Hrabal was the main inspiration for Menzel, who directed five feature films based on the works of this writer, including the film "Closely Watched Trains," which won an Oscar in 1968 for Best Foreign Language Film. However, it is Menzel's later film, "I Served the King of England," that became a kind of business card for the "Czech character." The story follows Jan Dítě, who, at the start, has nothing more than a short stature and a dream of becoming a millionaire. Yet, his fate reflects all the hopes, conflicts, dramas, and illusions of Czech history in the 20th century. Initially, Dítě (whose character occasionally reveals traits reminiscent of Forrest Gump) sells sausages at the train station, skillfully shortchanging customers with his blue eyes. Soon, he gains experience as a beer hall waiter, excels at a guesthouse where city playboys gather to relax with young beauties, and eventually becomes a waiter in the luxurious restaurant of the Prague hotel "Paris." The film's title, "I Served the King of England," is a phrase from the headwaiter who takes Dítě under his wing. He also utters the line, "Czechs don't fight," explaining why Nazi Germany easily occupied Czechoslovakia. After the war, thanks to a collection of postage stamps, Jan Dítě becomes a millionaire, albeit briefly. The Russians, who replace the Germans, imprison him, and he emerges as an old man. In reviews of Jiří Menzel's work, critics often say that all his films tell the story of a little (not about height) person caught in the wheels of great history. The director himself commented on this: "It comes out spontaneously for me; I don't aim to depict a little man. But subconsciously, I am attracted to it. After all, little people make real history. And they later become its victims."
"Empties" ("Vratné lahve"), directed by Jan Svěrák, 2007
This seemingly straightforward comedy, released in the year it premiered, received three Czech Lion Awards from the National Film Academy and is still one of the top-grossing films in cinemas. The Czechs saw something in "Empties" that made them see themselves in the film's characters. Directed by Jan Svěrák (an Oscar and Golden Globe winner), based on a script by his father Zdeněk Svěrák (who also plays the lead role), the film tells the story of Josef, a school teacher facing a crisis not in middle age but rather in his advanced years. He realizes he can no longer control his anger when his students behave horribly in his literature classes, especially the children of wealthy parents. Josef decides to quit teaching, but he doesn't want to sit on a bench in the park with other pensioners. He still has many ideas, and his boyish passions are still bubbling inside him (scenes of his erotic fantasies are genuinely humorous). Despite his wife's objections, who sarcastically comments on all her husband's activities, Josef becomes a bicycle courier. Even after an inevitable accident, he refuses to stay at home and instead gets a job as a glass bottle collector in a supermarket. However, the glass bottle collection point is about to become automated, so Josef won't have to stand at the counter for long. Therefore, he tries to fill each day with active community service – helping an elderly woman who has lost her mind, introducing his new colleague nicknamed "Mr. Silent" to a cheerful widow, and attempting to sort out the personal life of his daughter, who is struggling to recover after a divorce. Josef's own flirtations almost lead to problems with his wife, so he decides to restore their relationship by celebrating their wedding anniversary with a hot air balloon flight. Unfortunately, everything starts going awry at that point.