Context Of the Czech new wave:
The Czech New wave, otherwise known as the "Czechoslovakian Film Miracle" is a term used to describe the "Film Revolution" that was led by a select group of Czech Filmmakers, whom wanted change in their native country. This film movement happened primarily in the 1960's in which it evolved out of the Devetsil artistic movement of the thirties. this was a group of Czech Avant-Guarde artists whom experimented with a wide variety of artistic outputs however primarily focused on themes such as magic realism as well as poeticism. These themes would later be emulated by the directors, in example films of the Czech New Wave, whom would also become graduates of the Film and Tv School of the Academy of Performing Arts, or the FAMU as it was otherwise known. In fact one director whom we are exploring the works of in this video essay, Vera Chytilova was a notable alumni of the FAMU.
Before we can examine the films from Directors whom were involved in the Czech new wave, it is best to further understand the circumstances in which they were forced under, which subsequently fuelled their determination to speak out about the social-political state of their country.
During the second world war of 1939 to 1945 Czechoslovakia was invaded by Germany and became overrun by the Nazi regime. This led to years of oppression upon the people of Czechoslovakia, which was enforced by the Gestapo. Czechoslovakian citizens were forced into labor such as coal mining and the arms deal industry in order to supply to the Nazi armed forces.
As stated in the book "New Waves in cinema" by Sean Martin, "The war itself did, strangely enough, bring good things to the Czech film industry." The nazi's even expanded Barrandov Studios which is located in Prague, as a cheaper alternative to filming propaganda films in their home country. Subsequently, the foundations of the expanded studio were further built upon in order to make it one of the largest and best equipped studios in Europe. This them stemmed on into the establishment of the FAMU in 1946 which is where the founders of the Czech New wave, of course, were later going to attend.
However in 1945 Czechoslovakia would be irradiated form the Nazi rule by the Soviet union whom were allied with Czechoslovakia at the time. Later on in the same year the communist democratic government was elected, which resulted in a "New Wave" of oppression. This prevented any form of "group identity" case in point, the contributors of the Czech new wave. The communist government would simply rule out any notable group identity as conspiracy. This made it difficult for any revolutionaries to make their voices heard. However some were persistent.
Certain films that were made in Czechoslovakia in the 1950's were able to slip under the radar of communistic censorship. A few examples include the works of Jiri Trnka. Because they were animations and produced on a small scale, in tiny studios, these films were able to be released on a large scale without censorship, as the underlying meaning of these films were hidden by a pleasant aesthetic and visual metaphors. It was assumed by the censors that the films were intended for children as some were based on folklore and fairytales, however the works of Trnka, such as his last film "The hand" (1965) was in fact intended for adults and was a comment on the communist regime that was currently oppressing the voices of the citizens of Czechoslovakia.
It was these methods of hiding from censorship that influenced the visual and narative style of films produced during the Czech New Wave.
The films that we're looking at are very conventionally similar. This is due to the fact that the Czech new wave directors occasionally collaborated with each other, on each of their films. The members of the Czech New Wave film acted as a family of sorts due to the fact that they all came from the same film and social background and therefore understood each others messages that they wished to convey through their films.
The films that I will looking at include Vera Chytilova’s 1966 film “Daisies”, Jaromil Jires’ 1970’s film “Valerie and her week of Wonders” and Juraj Herz’s 1972 film, “Morgiana".
What conjoins these three films is their similar conventions, one of which is the surrealist element. All three of these films also include elements of magic as if it were rational in the real world. This references back to the aforementioned Devitsil Artistic movement which focused on magic realsim. This shows how that movement has truly made an impact on the films of the Czech new wave. Another way of looking at it is to interpret the NewWave as a domino effect, with one film making an impact on the other as time goes on, as they continue to emulate their predecessors. However there are some films that share certain conventions that others do not, such as loose narrative structures. This trait is shared by both Daisies and Valerie and her week of wonders. On the other hand films such as "Morgiana", has a solid narrative structure, but that does not mean they are any less personal and poetic. Morgiana could also be described as loosely experimental. this is not because it is experimental in the way of narrative structure, but because of it's occasional use of experimental camera movements and practical effects.
The recent communist regime that had overtaken Czechoslovakia at the time resulted in political corruption, food shortages and media censorship which meant that living day to day in the country would be a rough road ahead. However it gave something meaningful and relevant for the film makers of Czechoslovakia to make movies about.
The comments of the social/political state of their country would be seen as a form of protest, something the filmmakers, weren't about to shy away from.
Vera Chytilova, tired of being a politically charged film-maker and having her work suppressed by the authorities, protested to regain her right to practise her chosen profession. In a letter that that she wrote to then Czechoslovakian president Gustav Husak in order to appeal for her right to make films, she describes her 1966 film Daisies (which subsequently led to her banning from filmmaking) as a "morality play" in which the "roots of all evil are shown as 'canceled in the malicious pranks of everyday life.
Czechoslovakian film Critic Zdena Skapova rightly commented on the intentions of Chytilova when making Daisies, as to "disguise"the serious social commentary of the film "as a charming and playful spectacle".
The film itself centres around two teenage girls, both whom are called Marie, who engage in bizarre pranks after they decide to "turn bad". They believe the world around them to be "spoiled" and adopt an attitude where nothing, food, clothes, men, war, is taken seriously. This film was made by Chytilova to comment on issues engulfing her country at the time. For example the dining room scene in Daisies, in which they trash the dining hall, throwing and stomping on food, is in fact a comment on the previously mentioned food shortages at the time. Therefore in effect, the content of that scene would have been very offensive and would not have been deemed acceptable to the people of Czechoslovakia at that time.
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