By Reuben Lazarus
Jan Palach
Czech Republic. 124 minutes.
This biographical film covers the last 6 months of Jan Palach’s life. He was a man well known in Czech culture, with numerous streets and squares across the Czech Republic named after him, but perhaps lesser known to Western audiences. The film explores the events in his life leading up to his self-immolation protest against Soviet occupation in Czechoslovakia.
Director Robert Sedlácek’s version of the story is a wonderfully visual exploration of the power dynamics of the time, showing what an individual can do in the wake of illegal occupation. The director’s combination of visuals and score alongside a convincing performance from Viktor Zavadil as Jan, create a dynamic yet horrifyingly depressing view of the impact the occupation had on individuals.
Jan Palach deservingly won the 2018 Critics Best Czech film award.
Bear with Us (Chata na Prodej)
Czech Republic. 77 minutes.
A comedic drama showing the last hurrah of a family’s weekend cottage as they sell it to a new owner. The film uses the cottage escape as a way of exploring family life, highlighting an array of relatable characters always bickering and fighting. Seeing the embarrassing side of families forces a reflection on one’s own experience for the viewer.
A clever use of language is perhaps the most interesting part of the film. Almost all characters will speak at least 2 of the 3 spoken languages of the film; English, German and Czech. Constant interactions occur where a 3rd party in the conversation is left in the dark in an interesting play on dramatic irony.
Director Tomás Pavlícek has created an entertaining exploration of family life and our connection to a sense of place in the world. Although the film is supported by a cast of well-acted characters, the downsides are the seemingly out of place score that randomly appears and disappears, and short run time that hints that it may have made for a much more effective short film.
The Cellar (Sklep)
Slovakia, Russia, Czech Republic. 110 minutes.
Igor Voloshin’s The Cellar is a crime thriller centred around the actions and reactions of a husband (Jean-Marc Barr) and wife (Olga Simanova) after their 16-year-old daughter goes missing. The couple must work through their failing marriage to try to find the answers. The film acts as an exploration of morality, in the sense of how far would you go, and who is to blame?
The film has a heavy focus on sound and score, which highlights the internal emotions of the characters; and equally the use of silence to contrast for dramatic effect.
The Cellar is well acted and well directed but unfortunately drags to its detriment. However, with the focus of the story being on the parents; reactions rather than finding the daughter directly, it is almost excusable.
The characters are human and easy to empathise with, and it has a satisfying ending. Unfortunately, though, you’re left comparing it too much to the superior Prisoners by Denis Villeneuve.
The Czech and Slovak Film Festival in Sydney is between March 27 – March 31, 2019.
