This is one of those movies that was presumably made because a location was available. Vera Ch. makes an anarchic comedy out of life in a high-rise Prague housing development where everyone is driven crazy over one day's course by the nonstop construction, confusingly lookalike streets/buildings, clogged bureaucracy, kids running amuck, and whatnot. It's a bit like Roy Andersson's more recent films in its making comedy of everyday desperation, and Jacques Tati in its slapstick of modern urban life, plus a bit of J.G. Ballard's "High Rise"-though as filtered though this filmmaker's particular frenetic sensibility. Political commentary is kept on the "Whattayagonna do, life is crazy!" level that would have been acceptable to the government censors at the time. It's a crowded, restless, absurdist ensemble film that is consistently amusing if never quite truly inspired.
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ofumalow3 September 2020
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Whilst looking for details on auteur Czech New Wave (CNW) film maker Vera Chytilová's 1966 movie Daisies,I stumbled upon a Chytilová title that I've never heard of before!,which led to me taking a look at the panels.
The plot:
Following a car round a building site,the movie follows the residence living round the new block Going from a supermarket worker to a boy causing trouble for all the residences, the film shows the chaotic nature of their lives.
View on the film:
Made as the economy was starting to improve,the screenplay by co- writer/(along with Eva Kacírková) director Vera Chytilová takes a harsh satirical punch at the occupying Soviet Union,with the block of flats being cut off from the rest of the world,and the builders removing any trace of the previous occupants.Backed by a grinding score from Jirí Sust, Chytilová and cinematographer Sofr capture the constant state of friction in the country with sawn-off CNW tracking shots and rough editing blending CNW fluidity with documentary grit.Although this style does get Chytilová's points across,the constant state of chaos disappointingly leads to the title running out of steam,due to the characters (which include a guy who looks like Bob Dylan!) being kept completely flat,as Chytilová draws their panels. -
wh-39 November 1999This is an incredible film that deserves to be better known in the US.
Using a hand-held verite camera style, Panalstory follows the live of several residents of a communist-bloc apartment complex from hell. Shot in a real unfinished housing project, the film is one of those things you can't believe got past the state censors. However don't think this film is only about life in the Soviet bloc. It one of the best universal human life films, I've seen. The filming and editing are superb and once again the director predates filming styles that are all the rage now.
If you live in New York City, the City University cable channel runs this film occasionally.