Directed by:
František VláčilCinematography:
Bedřich BaťkaComposer:
Zdeněk LiškaCast:
Magda Vášáryová, Zdeněk Štěpánek (narrator), Josef Kemr, Naďa Hejná, Jaroslav Moučka, František Velecký, Karel Vašíček, Pavel Landovský, Ladislav Považay (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Young Eugene from the provinces travels to Prague in order to seek a better life and acquire recognition and fame. Initially he earns a living as a road sweeper; he writes rudimentary poetry and occasionally manages to get himself invited to drunken parties thrown by the Prague boho set. At one such gathering he gets an offer to write engagé pop lyrics expressing loyalty to the governing regime. Gradually the naive yet honourable country dweller becomes a cynical man of means, surrounded by beautiful women. While no-one likes him, everyone’s afraid of him, so he commands respect. The graduation film by Petr Nýdrle was made at Prague’s FAMU, thus outside the realms of official programming. After the success of a private screening held in 1980, the film never made it into distribution (although it was never officially banned), and audiences were only able to see it after November 1989. Thirty years have passed since the filming of this satire criticising the flexible morals of normalisation Czechoslovakia. To this day the black-and-white film appeals for its combination of raw shots and stylised acting performances. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
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Reviews (11)
Impressive images, thoroughly dramatic actors, and – nothing comes from it. When the story can be summarized in two sentences, the long shots stretch the limits of tolerance, and only the impressive musical background saves what can be saved, I realize that I am incapable of getting close to this type of poeticism.
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Incredible to imagine, in an era when Czechoslovakian historical film consists of Báthory, to imagine that such a film as this one could ever have been spawned here. A legendary cinematic artifact, a gem of gems. I'd seen it once before in the cinema (remastered) after a hard day's work, dozed off twice and virtually failed to understand the connections between the characters (which I'm told is quite difficult without knowing the source material). Still, it was enough. I hereby commence my goal of seeing Marketa Lazarová at least ten more times in my lifetime.
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3/4 of the movie is boring. And then... suddenly it's interesting, the moving pictures come to life and you think, great, finally something's happening, only then it slides back into boredom and you have 123 minutes to be bored or think about bug immortality. Really a shame about Markéta Lazarová, I was expecting more, but whatever. Seen as it was meant to be seen, I can't complain...
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Markéta Lazarová is certainly rightly referred to as the best film of Czech cinema, and even though I think better films have been made here, I still have to acknowledge its unmissable qualities. I definitely have to praise the craftsmanship, which is of a high standard for its time: from the amazing raw images of the Middle Ages, to Zdeněk Liška's unmistakable music, to the incredibly authentic production design. The story is very well constructed by being divided into two parts and interspersed with a plethora of allegories and symbols, but its biggest weakness for me was its excessive scope, which toyed with my perception as a viewer. In short, one of the gems of filmmaking created during the golden era of Czech cinema, shot in such a way that it has been able to stand the test of time.
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A film that is definitely not for everyone and will probably never be sufficiently appreciated by the general public. I too found the poetically conceived story a bit of a problem, but if I look at everything else – the detailed direction, the beautiful sets, the actors (the amazing Kemr) and especially the incredible atmosphere of the evil Middle Ages underscored by fantastic music – I have no choice but to give this gem a full rating. Vančur's distinctive approach commands respect, and František Vláčil perfectly captured it here and brought to the world a legendary film unparalleled in the history of Czechoslovakia. 90%
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