Rare Bohemians: New Czech Films
Bohemian
Adj 1: of or relating to Bohemia or its language or people; 2: unconventional in especially appearance and behavior; "a bohemian lifestyle."
Rare
Adj 1: not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness.
Czech artists have had an inventive way with film since 1898, when the amateur photographer Jan Krizenecky shot three strips of footage with Lumiere equipment he bought in Paris. The Czech New Wave of the 60s gave the world the spirited works of directors including Vera Chytilov�, Milos Forman, Jan Nemec, and J�nos Kad�r. The boiling-over of creative juices is evident once again, as a young generation of Czech directors make their presence known on the world scene, with the savvy satire, eccentric comedy, and soulful pathos that should make their New Wave forebears proud.
Throughout October, in collaboration with the Czech Film Center, the Gene Siskel Film Center presents the series Rare Bohemians: New Czech Films. Six feature films, not a single one in North American distribution at this time, demonstrate why these new Czech films have scooped up festival awards and become box-office hits in Europe.
The Gene Siskel Film Center is grateful to the Czech Center and Irena Kovarova for advice and support.
-- Barbara Scharres
film descriptions
BRATS
(SMRADI)
2002, Zdenek Tyc, Czech Republic, 96 min.
With Ivan Trojan, Petra Spalkova
"Viewers expecting an incendiary clash of cultures are instead treated to a leisurely, visually eccentric tale with flashes of droll wit." -- Eddie Cockrell, Variety
A fracas erupts in a country town when an urban family with two adopted Romany (a.k.a. Gypsy) kids moves in. Multiple festival awards have accrued to this lively drama centered on reaction and overreaction when the presence of the polite little strangers incites a small town's small minds to confrontational action. In Czech with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
Saturday, October 8, 3:30 pm;
Monday, October 10, 8:00 pm
LONERS
(SAMOTARI)
2000, David Ondricek, Czech Republic, 104 min.
With Jiri Machacek, Jitka Schneiderova
A clutch of Prague denizens pushing thirty are the focus of comically overlapping stories of dysfunctional romance, misguided pursuit, and unwise obsession. Arrested development is one of director Ondricek's conspicuous themes as his DJ seeks tapes of haranguing mothers, one young beauty moves back home to escape a failed relationship, and a neurosurgeon abandons his wife and kids to stalk an old girlfriend. Prague itself is a character of note as fun and wacky fatalism merge. In Czech with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
Saturday, October 29, 3:30 pm;
Monday, October 31, 6:00 pm
ONE HAND CAN'T CLAP
(JEDNA RUKA NETLESKA)
2003, David Ondricek, Czech Republic, 100 min.
With Jiri Machacek, Ivan Trojan
"Daffy. . . appealing, surreal stoner wit. . . Hot young helmer David Ondricek pokes fun at personal eccentricities and societal mores with the same brutal anarchy employed by Joel and Ethan Coen." -- Eddie Cockrell, Variety
An amiable loser who took the fall for his boss to do time for smuggling an endangered species teams up with a new friend of similar ilk for an adventure in getting even (sort of). A black comedy that plays on a host of types and stereotypes, ONE HAND CAN'T CLAP sends its heroes through a maze of screwball situations including a visit to a cultish restaurant with some very special items on the menu. In Czech with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
Friday, September 30, 6:00 pm;
Monday, October 3, 8:15 pm
RETURN OF THE IDIOT
(NAVRAT IDIOTA)
1999, Sasa Gedeon, Czech Republic, 99 min.
With Pavel Liska, Tatiana Vilhelmova
"One of the most original and inventive pics out of Central Europe in some time." -- Derek Elley, Variety
A dim-bulb of a youth pursues the sassy redhead he spots on a train platform and ends up sharing a sleeping compartment with her in the opening sequence of this whimsical comedy of errors inspired by Dostoyevsky's The Idiot. Living up admirably to critical claims that he is the heir to the Czech New Wave, director Gedeon has a light, humorous touch that's never cloying. His clueless hero, just released from an institution, turns out to be the catalyst for a disparate crew of young lovers. In Czech with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
Saturday, October 1, 3:30 pm;
Wednesday, October 5, 8:00 pm
WILD BEES
(DIVOKE VCELY)
2001, Bohdan Slama, Czech Republic, 94 min.
With Tatiana Vilhelmova, Zdenek Rauser
A darkly satirical look at a village that is anything but sweet, WILD BEES opens up a crazy hive where a man can be a prime catch for owning a house with linoleum floors. Shy Kaja has a thing for wild-child Bozka, who peddles sausage in the village kiosk. But Bozka, whose mother is the local hooker, is engaged to Michael Jackson-impersonator Lada, or is she? All will be revealed at the annual firemen's ball. Director Slama's latest feature, SOMETHING LIKE HAPPINESS, premieres at the New York Film Festival this month. In Czech with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
Friday, October 21, 6:00 pm;
Monday, October 24, 6:00 pm
YEAR OF THE DEVIL
(ROK DABLA)
2002, Petr Zelenka, Czech Republic, 88 min.
With Jarek Nohavica, Karel Plihal
Compared by critics to A HARD DAY'S NIGHT and THIS IS SPINAL TAP, the mockumentary YEAR OF THE DEVIL spins a deadpan tale of a Czech funeral band plucked out of obscurity to back a recovering alcoholic star (popular singer/songwriter Jarek Novahica) on a road tour intended to be his comeback. Angels, devils, and a Dutch filmmaker figure in a saga in which main characters are consumed by flames, spirits speak, and a nation becomes obsessed with knowing whether their rock-god hero wears briefs or boxers. In Czech and English with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
