centrum99

Rating this movie is not an easy task for me. It has its strengths, but also aspects that I could not digest. First, the black-and-white picture is fine and takes you back to the 1970s. But a movie without opening credits and absolutely no music was somewhat shocking. Actually, most of the movie consists of short, mutually unconnected scenes, where people don't talk, and are just sitting or standing.

Although this "art style" captures the gloomy inner world of Olga, I can not ignore that it is disrespectful to the audience who may have problems to understand, what is actually happening on the screen. The original version reportedly lasted 2 1/2 hours and the editor's digital scissors reduced it on the border of comprehensibility. And I say this as a man who had studied the entire history of Hepnarova and I was able to successfully predict what will follow in the next few minutes. Undoubtedly, the movie will lose spectators due to these insensitive cuts. And that's a pity, because the second half - starting from the massacre through the trial up to the execution - is already filmed in the chilly spirit that I expected.

It is here, where Michalina Olszańska shows her superb performance, and with her, this whole spectacle stands and falls. The probe into Olga's depressing psyche is the true peak of the movie. The filmmakers also try to be authentic and virtually all presented scenes are based on real testimonies, Olga's letters and court documents. It is only in the lesbian scenes, where they apparently exaggerate. For example, Hepnarova was in love with her female colleague, but they have never had any intimate relationship. Even the openly lesbian contact at the disco party is odd in Czechoslovakia of the 1970s - to say the least. (Although it is again inspired by the fact, because Olga liked provoking and was sometimes wearing a jacket on a naked body.)

As a whole, this film biography of Olga Hepnarova is impressive and leaves feelings that will fly you off the handle for many hours. In fact, it is not unusual that during the final credits, spectators remain downright frozen to their seats. However, I am still sorry that the final result could have been even better. If I were in place of the directors, I would take the movie as Olga's retrospective narrative during interrogation. Her own words would cover the "dead spots" in the story and explain her inner feelings. Too late...

Factory owner Bierhanzl, a producer of a miraculous ointment against hair loss, mysteriously disappears from a party held at his house, and his physical remains are later found in the bathroom. Better said, only metal parts of his dress testifying that he was dissolved...and drained into sewerage. The puzzling case is investigated by inspector Trachta and his young assistant Hlavacek (who tries hard to learn as much as he can from his experienced mentor). They soon find out that Bierhanzl's ointment was not without temporary side effects (in the form of a complete disappearance of hair) and the affected men, who (temporarily) got mad, ended in a lunatic asylum directed by professor Zalud. However, since this side effect is only temporary, they were soon surprised by a full head of hair and left for San Francisco, in order to become playboys and gigolos. At least, this is stated on postcards that their wives got. But all the postcards look too similar and Trachta suspects that the poor men had a much worse fate...

To be honest, I had a hard time to get used to this comedy that is very different from previous movies written by Smoljak and Sverak, one of the most respected screenwriters in the history of the Czech comedic genre. Its theatrical origin is namely pretty visible. Furthermore, the biggest minus of this movie is the performance of Marek Brodsky, who obviously didn't inherit the talent of his famous father (who acted here, too), and basically only mindlessly recites his memorized text. However, over time, this movie became quite popular thanks to some catch-phrases and good jokes (Do you know, how to drive a train with a rifle?) and I gradually started to appreciate it, too. After all, among the current woeful Czech film production, it would be highly above average.

Tonatiu, a distant planet in the Pleiades is plagued by diseases brought from Earth. Two agents from Tonatiu are sent back to Earth, in order to find a mysterious South American tree called "bororo" that is mentioned in the notes of Czech adventurer Alberto Vojtech Fric (1882-1944). An extract from this tree is able to kill many species of terrestrial bacteria within an astonishingly short time. However, they are not the only ones that are interested in the phenomenal attributes of this tree, and their mission ends tragically...

A movie that has stayed in my memories since childhood. It had a very specific, mysterious atmosphere that I couldn't forget. As an adult, I would rate it more critically, but still, it is not an ordinary film. It has a great music composed by Petr Hapka, and the grace of young Božidara Turzonovová (as an extra-terrestrial woman) also adds a lot to its exceptional impressiveness.

If there is something, for which the citizens of the Czech republic should thank the communist regime, then it is the regular support of film production. Otakar Vávra's Hussite trilogy, with its enormous budget of 25 million crowns, may have been the most expensive film project that has ever been made in the country. And it is very pleasing to say that these money were invested very well.

The trilogy was (very freely) based on the novels of Alois Jirásek, who connected documented historical anecdotes via the life stories of his fictional heroes. So, on the background of historical events, we can also watch fates of ordinary peasants, craftsmen and yeomen.

The first part of the trilogy (JAN HUS) deals with the final years of the life of Jan Hus (1412-1415), from the upheaval in 1412 that led to an irreconcilable conflict between Hus and the king Václav IV., to Hus' death at the stake in Constance. The second part (JAN ZIZKA) starts in the summer 1419, when the open revolt in Prague (the first Prague defenestration) started the Hussite revolution, and ends in March 1420 near Sudomer, where the first regular battle of the Hussite wars took place. The third part (PROTI VSEM) covers the period between early spring-early summer 1420, and is closed by the victorious battle on Vitkov.

It is interesting to note that the movies were gradually getting better and better, and PROTI VSEM is undoubtedly the best. Its battle scenes easily match everything that was made in the world at that time (and even many decades later) and are accompanied by a brilliant score of Zdenek Srnka.

In contrast with what usually observed in the Hollywood production, the Hussite trilogy doesn't deviate much from real historical facts, although it is true that it contains some minor "literary license". Curiously, some Czech critics denounce it as a sort of "communist propaganda", despite the fact that this "propaganda" is based on real contemporary writings that contained a strong social appeal. The character of the Hussite movement was very similar to the communist one. That's all.

Actors' performances are noticeably theatrical, but the pathos is certainly tolerable, and overall, the cast is excellent, led by charismatic Zdenek Stepanek (who performed both Jan Hus and Jan Zizka). Someone could perhaps argue that the main figures tend to be portrayed in black and white, and that the movies are filled by ostentatious nationalism, but it must be taken into consideration, when this project was made (only a decade after World War II).

In summary, although these movies are not 100% perfect (hardly any movie is), they certainly stand out as one of the best historical film projects of the period, and still can be regarded as one of the best medieval movies ever made. Personally I think that this work of Otakar Vávra would deserve to be much better known abroad, which, fortunately, is already largely accomplished by the power of YouTube.