CRN: 37727
Instructor: Martin Votruba
Days, Time, Place:Tuesdays 2:30-520, 352 CL
Office: CL1417
Office hours: W & TH 4-5
| Part I: CENTRAL EUROPE THROUGH FILM - THE PAST 5O YEARS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 V-0682 |
WORLD WAR II SK (CZ) - The Shop on Main Street (1965) The first Slovak film to receive an Oscar; a burning topic of guilt, complicity, and helplessness. | 2h 8' |
| 2 V-2011 | COMMUNISM PL - Camouflage (1977)A contemporary version of medieval discourse on ethics, accompanied by a characteristic East-Central European theme of 'the idealized West meets the "mysterious East;"' | 1h 46' |
| 3 DVD-714 | SOVIET INVASIONS AND INTERVENTIONS US (CZ/SK) - The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) A film based on an acclaimed Czech novel: contrast American and Central European filmmaking; the options between political and sexual freedom or restrictions intertwine; emphasis on visual appeal. | 2h 52' |
| 4 DVD-713 | RELAXATION H - Love Film (1970) An early film by a director, who went on to reach international recognition; politically sensitive topics buried under highly personal filmmaking - 'beyond the flashback:' associative rather than temporal sequencing; "the East and West shall never meet:" plausible, or mandated conclusion? | 2h 10' |
| 5 DVD-0545 | COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM CZ (SK) - Kolya (1996) A quirky Czech thespian goes Hollywood: comedy and emotional commitment; a plot designed to please; contemporary filmmaking; Central European handling of love | 1h 45' | Part II: HOW THE FILMMAKERS COPED |
| 6 V-3931 | THE NON-POLITICAL REVOLUTION SK - The Sun in a Net (1962) Ranked as one of the 10 best films in the history of Czechoslovak filmmaking; the truth and lies through the experiences of urban teenagers; a forerunner of the 'Czech New Wave;' Communist officials threatened by overload of symbolism. | 1h 40' |
| 7 V-6130 V-6097 | RELAX AND EXPERIMENT CZ - Daisies (1966); Dudes and the Hops (1964) It is considered one of the most innovative experiments in world cinema; is there really a morality play under all the razzle-dazzle, as the director claims? | 1h 14' |
| 8 V-0671 | ORDINARY LIVES OR ALLEGORIES? CZ - Loves of a Blond (1965); Firemen's Ball (1968) Early films by a director who was showered with Oscars, after he defected to Hollywood; mating habits of the adolescent working class; use of non-actors; pseudo-documentary techniques; incompetence in charge spells fun and cruelty; a film with no starring roles. | 1h 28' 1h 13' |
| 9 V-0683 V-3920 | CZ - Closely Watched Trains (1966) SK - Birds, Orphans and Fools (1969) | 1h 29' 1h 20' |
| 10 V-3919 | TURNING TO HISTORY SK - A Thousand-Year-Old Bee (1983) The most popular domestic Slovak film ever - unexpectedly, from an acclaimed director usually leaning towards art-house films; a panorama of life of three generations around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. | 2h 42' |
| 11 V-3928 | COMEDY AND REALISM SK - She Grazed Horses on Concrete (1982) The leading actress also wrote the screenplay, based on her own novel; one of the most popular films in Slovakia; a single mother fends for herself and her teenage daughter; all starring roles are female; first use of dialect; first discussion of abortion; handling of violence in film under Communism. | 1h 18' |
| 12 V-3926 | AN ESOTERIC ROMANCE? SK - Rosy Dreams (1976) The first Central and East European feature film aiming at a realistic - rather than romanticized - portrayal of the Roma (Gypsies). A Romany girl and a Slovak boy fall in love based on their fantasies about the "others'" lives. | 1h 28' |
| 13 V-4117 | SCI-FI AND POLITICS PL - Sexmission (1984) The film has remained unsurpassed in Polish domestic ticket sales since its release, and was enormously popular in other Central European Communist countries; two male astronauts land in a world of women; expectations of Central European audiences; comparison with Hollywood science fiction; anti-feminist, or anti-authoritarian? | 1h 53' |
| 14 V-5803 | NO CENSORS, NO MONEY SK - Paper Heads (1996) A director allowed to survive in the margins under Communism looks back after its collapse, and calls his film a documentary; what qualifies as a documentary? | 1h 36' |