At’ zje Republika
Czechoslovakia,
1968, 123 min
Shown in 1966
CREDITS
- dir
-
Karel Kachyna
- prod
-
Erich Svabik, Barrandov Studios
- scr
-
Jan Prochazka
- cam
-
Jaromír Sofr
- editor
-
Miroslav Hájek
- mus
-
Jan Novák
- cast
-
Zdenek Lstiburek, Vlado Müller, Nadzeda Gajerová, Gustáv Valach
- prod co
-
Ceskoslovensky Statni Film; Ceskoslovensky armádní film; Filmové Studio Barrandov
- source
-
Eurofilm Ltd.
OTHER
A vivid re-enactment of the last days of World War II, as it affects, or rather, does not affect a particular Moravian village. The cynicism of the story does not overshadow the brilliant imagery and sardonic humor of the villagers' efforts to protect their farms and valuables from the retreating Germans and Russian liberators. The veteran Czech director, Karel Kachyna, has told the story through the inquisitive eyes and impressionable emotions of a 12-year-old boy, whose greatest symbols of the goodness of life are his mother, his cream-colored horse and a host of puppies. The film becomes a panorama of the boy's memories and the gradual breakdown of his childhood ideals. While his elders succeed in retreating from the war, indulging in every meanness and act of selfish cruelty to protect themselves, the boy becomes directly involved with the Russians and Germans, making the juxtaposition of noble attitudes and hypocritical activity more emphatic than before. When all values disintegrate, only the boy maintains a rational view of life, so that even liberation becomes a hollow triumph in this non-romantic venture into a picturesque world.
—Albert Johnson
FACTOID #51
The first silent film screened at the Festival (now an annual tradition) was The Scarlet Letter (1924) by the great Swedish director Victor Sjöström, on October 24, 1968. The film’s star, Lillian Gish, was honored with an in-person tribute two days later.
