'THE CZECHOSLOVAK NEW WAVE COLLECTION VOLUME TWO'
(1965-1969)
- A review by Richard Harrison (2016)
Looking back is an interesting activity, especially bearing in mind
that looking back 50 years means one is reflecting on the latter half
of arguably the most iconic decade of the 20th century- the 1960s.
By that time, although the original Nouvelle Vague was
beginning to draw to the end in its native France, its ripples were
still very much in evidence in the rest of European cinema. In Britain,
the New Wave was linked with directors such as Karel Reisz and Tony
Richardson- as well as with Linsday Anderson, who had strong
associations with Miloš Forman, whose film A Blonde In Love is
the
first in a new trio of titles from Second Run. Titled The
Czechoslovak New Wave Collection Volume II , the set contains
films that epitomise the film movement in Czechoslavakia from directors
Miloš Forman, Jan Němec and Jiří Menzel. The earliest title- A
Blonde
In
Love- is a welcome addition, for it is a film with
significance both then (in 1965) and now (over 50 years later). Ken
Loach has cited it as his favourite film (its production and ethos
proving hugely influential), whilst Linsday Anderson worked with
cinematographer Miroslav Ondrícek on three of his own films and
became a quasi-mentor for the brilliant Vladimír Pucholt, who
plays Milda- the beau of Andula.
In terms of cast, A Blonde In Love incorporates a fascinating
blend of
professional and non-professional actors, the plausibility of the
narrative meaning that there is no obvious distinction between them. It
is a very real film in so many ways- not least in the contrast
between the generations, where the older people are shown to be
pessimistic, worried and concerned with banalities, contrasting the
younger feelings of hope, adventure and liberated sexuality. Nowhere is
this more clearly shown than in the small flat Milda shares with his
parents, the awkward scene where he embraces Andula drawing a parallel
with the earlier moments where the two are naked. That particular scene
is sensual rather than sexy, implicit rather than explicit- and is all
the more satisfying for that. This also ties in with the public/private
face of activities within society- it is telling that Milda takes great
pains to draw the blinds for their private moment of intimacy, whilst
Tonda’s angst is visualised as a very public tirade, and is all the
worse for it. The film also marks the on-screen debut of Jana
Nováková, tragically murdered by her husband a mere 5
years later, Marie Salacová (for whom this was the only film)
and Hana Brejchová (who has fortunately enjoyed a longer film
career) as Andula. The natural performances and comedy (for despite the
downbeat moments the film is actually very funny at times) are handled
with a lightness of touch, and it is easy to see how the film captured
the zeitgeist of the swinging 1960s whilst still maintaining a
kitchen-sink style realism that would resonate with so many.
Both sound and print quality are excellent, and include the ‘physical
contact’ between Milda and Andula when they have barely met, though
this particular release excludes a documented scene where Milda
attempts to enter through a bedroom window. An informative and
accessible booklet written by Michael Brooke accompanies the disc.
The second film in the set is Jan Němec’s 1966 feature The Party
and
the Guests, ‘the most subversive of all the Czech New Wave films’
according to Peter Hames’ extra feature- which is a refreshingly
unpatronising appreciation. The film itself is an audacious allegory of
Czech society at that time- Němec’s reward for such perceptiveness was
to be banned from film studios, a ban which has only been rescinded in
recent years. Rarely does a film title capture the essence of its
content so comprehensively as this- in its location filming and use of
actors known to the filmmaker it has associations with the
Nouvelle Vague, but the film as a whole is more akin to Alain
Resnais baffling and distinctly non New Wave Last Year At Marienbad
than anything else. Although an air of unpredictability hangs over the
film, we, as the audience who are as bewildered as the main group of
characters, are at least given a voice in what Hames appropriately
calls a “dissenter”- the character of Karel. It is Karel who attempts-
as surely we would- to rebuff the absurd situation, but he is
temporarily threatened by Rudolf’s posse of henchmen. It is the
afore-mentioned unpredictability that makes The Party and the Guests
so
hard hitting at this point- for we are present, with our characters, in
a situation which is all too real yet patently absurd. The strange
atmosphere is accompanied by natural sound – the effect of this is to
heighten the sense of plausibility. The film moves on to the actual
party, and the slightly surreal events continue. In another pithy essay
from Michael Brooke, the film’s events are detailed and gently pulled
apart like the food at the party. However, for me the film felt like a
jigsaw puzzle with, ultimately, a part missing. Though the general
consensus of opinion is that this is part of its mastery, I never was
one for jigsaws.
The final entry in the trio is Jiří Menzel’s 1969 film Larks
on
a String, which, much like the French New Wave films of the late
1960s,
marks a shift away from the narrative concerns of earlier films in
favour of a more political approach. The visual style is also
different- gone is the crisp monochrome, replaced with a colour which –
even if not bright- gives things less of a gritty feel. With its
politics at its core, Larks on a String is therefore more akin to
Godard’s Weekend, albeit with a heavier touch. A slow pan
across an
industrial landscape is the film’s low-key opening, although there is
no sense at this stage that we are visualising the main backdrop to the
events that will unfold, but the scrap metal yard fulfils the role of
the wood in The Party and the Guests – it is the arena wherein
everything takes place. ‘Larks on a String is a story about the
first
years of the Communist regime’ according to the rather bizarre ‘7
Questions’ interview featurette with Jiří Menzel which appears
as an extra on the DVD. Menzel’s comments highlight the Communist
mistrust (and even hatred) for the intellectual elite – it is these
people who appear as characters in the film in order to satirise what
was a significantly repressive regime. Thus, Menzel uses film as a tool
with which to satirise (and artistically attack) the status quo
much in the way that Němec does, but Menzel’s approach is less
whimsical and far more direct.
As the 1960s drew on, it is interesting to note the degree to which its
filmmakers embraced (or did not embrace) a political didactic. To
ignore films which have this satirical angle would be to omit
significant titles and to paint an unrepresentative portrait of the
era. On the other hand, to properly engage with the films one needs at
least some concept of context- and that becomes more difficult the
farther removed one is from it, both in terms of time and geographical
distance. In other words, comprehending the intricate politics of a
Czech New Wave film like Larks on a String is no easy task, and
the
film becomes more challenging as a result. Interestingly, the
incendiary power of film was recognised by the authorities who banned
it (it remained unseen until 1990), a fate which also befell The
Party
and the Guests (banned in 1973, and only seen in the post-1989
era).
The problems of communication felt by the characters in Larks on a
String is another mirror of society itself, their struggles a
symbol of
the endurance of the Czech people who were repressed for so long. But,
the ultimate question is to what extent we (as an audience) can engage
with this in the way we can with the struggles of Milda and Andula in A
Blonde
In
Love. Once more, the general consensus seems to be that this
is a minor detail- but it is a detail of note nonetheless.
Second Run
have done (and are doing) an admirable job in bringing these films to
public attention once more. Adding extras like the essays in the
booklets and restoring both sound and image shows a care for the
material which is heartening. Looking back has never been so much fun.
'The Czechoslovak New Wave Collection' is available from Second
Run DVD.
Second Run DVD website
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