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The Embassy of the Czech Republic and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic present the film series The Golden 60s of Czechoslovak Cinema, launching on February 21, 2013, at 7 pm, with the screening of The Sun in a Net (Slnko v sieti).
The series features four films from the New Wave, an artistic movement
of the 1960s, hailed as the “golden era” in Czechoslovakia's cinematic
history boasting some of the most attractive films produced in Europe.
The films encompass a broad range of approaches, from highly stylized
literary adaptations to semi-improvised comedies. The films frequently
feature absurd, black humor, and the concerns of ordinary people when
faced by political change.
Opening remarks will be presented by Czech and Slovak Ambassadors or Deputy Chiefs of Missions.
Screenings and Locations
February 21, 7 pm: The Sun in a Net | Slnko v sieti (SLOVAK EMBASSY)
February 28, 7 pm: The Shop on Main Street | Obchod na korze (CZECH EMBASSY)
March 21, 7 pm: Celebration in the Botanical Garden | Slávnosť v botanickej záhrade (SLOVAK EMBASSY)
March 28, 7 pm: The Cremator | Spalovač mrtvol (CZECH EMBASSY)
RSVPs
ADDRESSES
Embassy of the Czech Republic
3900 Spring of Freedom Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008
Embassy of the Slovak Republic
3523 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
Light refreshments will be served following the screenings.
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THE GOLDEN 60s
of Czechoslovak Cinema
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 February 21, 7 pmThe Sun in a Net | Slnko v sieti
Directed by Štefan Uher
1962, 90 min., black and white, Slovak with English subtitles
More than any other film of the early 1960s, Štefan Uher’s The Sun in a Net
opened the doors for the liberated films of the New Wave that extended
from 1963-69. Its story centers on a young teenager, nicknamed Fajolo
(Marián Bielik), and his love for the fair haired Bela (Jana Beláková).
When their relationship undergoes a temporary crisis, he joins a summer
work brigade on a collective farm. Against this story of young love,
viewers are introduced to the world of their parents. Fajolo’s mother is
always absent at work while Bela’s mother is blind and an apparent
burden on her husband. While Uher’s portrait of everyday life confronted
a number of previously forbidden and “negative” themes, his main
innovations are formal. The film is dominated by the role of the sun,
and a solar eclipse forms one of its essential elements. Fajolo is also
an obsessive photographer and, like the film’s makers, focuses on the
revealing image. The director's mosaic of impressionist effects, the
cross-cutting of parallel themes, and use of ambiguous symbolism creates
a film poetry that was unique for its time – in which word, image, and
music contribute to the film’s portrait of individual subjective
worlds.
Opening remarks will be presented by Slovak Ambassador Peter Kmec.
Location: Embassy of the Slovak Republic
3523 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
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 February 28, 7 pm The Shop on Main Street | Obchod na korze
Directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos
1965, 125 min., black and white, Slovak and Yiddish with English subtitles
During World War II, mild-mannered carpenter Tono Brtko (Jozef Króner)
is torn between greed and guilt when the Nazi-backed bosses of his town
appoint him “Aryan controller” of an old Jewish widow’s sewing shop. To
appease his money-hungry wife, he takes on the responsibility of running
the shop. Meanwhile, the old Jewish woman (Ida Kaminska) is oblivious
to the outside world and does not understand that Tono is now the new
owner. Offering no financial gain, Tono debates giving up the shop. The
Jewish community, knowing that the woman could be sent to be
exterminated if he leaves, offers Tono a weekly payment as an incentive
to keep the store. Tono agrees to stay and even develops a friendship
with the old woman. When the authorities start rounding up the town’s
entire Jewish community for transport, Tono must decide whether to save
her or turn her in to the authorities. The film won the Academy Award
for Best Foreign Language Film (1966) and received the Special Mention
Award at Cannes Film Festival for the acting performances of Jozef
Kroner and Ida Kaminska (1965).
Opening remarks will be presented by Czech Deputy Chief of Mission Jaroslav Zajíček.
Embassy of the Czech Republic
3900 Spring of Freedom Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008
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 March 21, 7 pm
Celebration in the Botanical Garden | Slávnosť v botanickej záhrade
Directed by Elo Havetta
1969, 83 min., color, Slovak with English subtitles
Mária (Hana Slivková), the innkeeper in the town of Babindol in the
Little Carpathians, has eight daughters by the same father, Pišta, who
lives in a hermit’s hut outside the vineyards. Their lives are disturbed
by the arrival of Pierre (Slavoj Urban), a wanderer from France, who
brings new life to the village. Pierre (a counterpart of Pierrot from
the Commedia dell’Arte) becomes a rival of the botanist Gašpar (whose
counterpart is Casper, the jester from puppet theatre). Pierre achieves a
miracle during the celebration of the vintage when local legends about a
spring of red wine come to fruition. The film’s episodic structure and
liberated style express a freewheeling sense of creativity, joy, and
freedom. Director Havetta admits to the influence of René Clair’s An Italian Straw Hat (Un chapeau de paille d’Italie)
and of French cinema of the “golden era,” and the film opens with an
extract from the Lumière brothers. Like Jakubisko, Havetta draws on folk
traditions but there are also visual links to le Douanier Rousseau,
Monet, and Renoir. With its elephant, tightrope walkers, and ambling
musicians, the whole film evokes the spirit of carnival.
Opening remarks will be presented by Slovak Deputy Chief of Mission Peter Zeleňák.
Location: Embassy of the Slovak Republic
3523 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
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 March 28, 7 pm
The Cremator | Spalovač mrtvolDirected by Juraj Herz
1969, 95 min., black and white, Czech with English subtitles
The Cremator is a
stunning example of the New Wave movement of Czechoslovak cinema,
gliding effortlessly between surrealism and expressionism. The horror
film, filled with black comedy, centers on Karel Kopfrkingl (Rudolf
Hrušínský), who lives in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia and works at a
crematorium in Prague during the 1930s. Obsessed with his duties, he
believes that he is not just cremating the bodies, but liberating the
souls of the departed. With Nazi forces gathering at the Czechoslovak
border, Karel descends into a mania that allows him to carry out his
disturbed beliefs. No one is safe from his quest for salvation, not even
his own family. The film is based on a novel by Ladislav Fuks. After
its premiere in 1969, the film was banned and not released until the
collapse of the communist regime in 1989. The film was selected as the
Czechoslovak entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 42nd
Academy Awards, but did not make the short list. It won the Best Film
award at the Sitges Film Festival (1972), and also received awards for
Best Actor (Rudolf Hrušínský) and Best Cinematography (Stanislav
Milota). The film is considered to be one of the best movies ever made
in the former Czechoslovakia.
Opening remarks will be presented by Czech Ambassador Petr Gandalovič.
Location: Embassy of the Czech Republic
3900 Spring of Freedom Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008
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