Adobe Systems
Czech New Wave
CZS36 + CMA018
Dr. Šárka Jelínek Gmiterková
Fall 2023
12. 10. 2023

Adobe Systems
2
Loves of a Blonde
(dir. Miloš Forman)
1965
Screenplay: Miloš Forman, Ivan Passer, Jaroslav Papoušek
Cinematography: Miroslav Ondříček
Music: Evžen Illín
Starring: Hana Brejchová, Vladimír Pucholt, Vladimír Menšík, Josef Šebánek, Jan Vostrčil, Milada
Ježková
„The film starring Jana Brejchová‘s sister“
zápatí prezentace

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
3
Loves of a Blonde
 Background and questions
̶„It was a late night in Prague, I saw a young girl. She was draging a heavy suitcase, but she
didn‘t seem in a hurry, not asking anything from anyone and she clearly wasn‘t a prostitute. She
seemed lost. And she clearly didn‘t mind. I was curious, so I started talking to her and persuaded
her to go home with me.“
(Miloš FORMAN, 1994)
1.Starting from the title and from the story above, how does this film portray romance (and
sexuality)? What are the ideals, what are the goals and obstacles of coupling in the early 1960s
Czechoslovakia?
2.Since you know Forman‘s previous film Black Peter, what kind of emotions he is best in portraying
and communicating? How do you think he achieves that?

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
4
In: Camera Obscura: Feminism, culture and Media Studies. 2009, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 77– 105.
Reading L3
KOVÁCS, András Bálint. Screening Modernism. European Art Cinema, 1950–1980. Chicago and London:
Chicago University Press, 2007, pp. 322–329.

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
5
1960s as an era of a cultural renaissance
̶Relatively stable and prosperous decade
̶New impulses and experiments with form can be found not only in various national cinemas but in
other artistic forms as well (nouveau roman, absurd theater, art informel) >> the effort to break
with the stereotypes and the search for new conceptions and solutions
̶
̶A similar atmosphere to be found in the 1920s – an era full of optimism and faith in the
possibility to realize the utopian visions + 1960s as a period full of technical and scientific
progress, as well as the rise of a living standard X sceptical take on human being (his or her
possiblities, desires and aims) and the idea of progress
̶

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
6
Modern / Modernism / Avantgarde
̶„Modern“
̶Meaning „new“, but also „actual“ >> older or previous forms are irrelevant.
̶The cult of modernity ends with postmodernism in the 1970s
̶Against the idea that art continually undergoes and aesthetic revolution, pushing it towards new
aestehtic visions and forms
̶
̶„Modernism“
̶An artistic movement able to express the experiences and feelings of contemporary world.
̶Key concepts are authenticity and actuality rather than difference or invention.
̶
̶„Avantgarde“
̶A gesture towards the future, “avant“ meaning forward.
̶This is an artistic movement oriented towards futurity.
̶

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
7
Modern film / Modernist cinema
̶In the 1920s, cinema couldn‘t yet innovate its onw traditions, while in the 1960s the canon is
already established
̶
̶Is modernist cinema a break or a continuity with classical film? Two opposing ideas:
1.The era of classical cinema is followed by the era of modernist cinema
2.Both modes of cinema coexist >> modernist cinema is perceived as a subversive form and as a
contrast to classical cinema
̶Modern films are „semi-comercial“ – their success as works of art is not tied together with their
commercial success
̶Specialized distribution and exhibition circuits (festivals, film clubs, art cinemas)
̶“By the second half of the 1950s, the art film in Europe was more than a theory, a prospect, or a
critical category – it has become a strong institution backed by tax laws, professional
associations, production and distribution networks, film festivals and prestigious magazines.“
(KOVÁCS, p. 27)

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
8
Cinema pur (1920s) X Modernist cinema (1960s)
̶
̶
Obsah obrázku rostlina, květina, růžová Popis byl vytvořen automaticky Obsah obrázku osoba,
interiér, žena, oblečení Popis byl vytvořen automaticky

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
9
Narration as character-driven
̶„[…] characteristic traits of modern art-cinema narration: lack of deadlines in the plot, episodic
structures, and representation of different mental states are all consequences of the concentration
on the character rather than on the plot.“ (KOVÁCS, p. 63)
̶

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
10
Storytelling and characters
̶Lack of psychological depth in characters >> wider existential portraits of a generation/class
rather than a tight story of one protagonist in a particular surrounding
̶Male figures dominate
̶Accidents and improvisations >> not only during the production, but accident is frequently used as
a storytelling device
̶Open endings, stories without conclusions and/or status quo reinstalled
̶Circular narratives – in contrast to classical storytelling these ones are more descriptive. It
provides us with insight into the problems the hero faces, but it lacks solutions.
̶

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
11
In the second half of the 1950s…
̶The peak of cinemagoing >> more than 35 films between the years 1954 and 1959 attracted more than
two million viewers
̶Demografical reasons (audiences born after the war), economical reasons (not many households
equipped with tv), distribution of films from Western Europe
̶
̶Local films – most succesfull are comedies with male stars from prewar years
̶Satire – helps to infuse lighthearted films with serious message, as it should adress shortcomings
of socialist society X shoud leave out political issues => impossible genre?
̶Three Wishes (1958, dir. Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos)
̶Also psychological (intimate) dramas
̶House at the Terminus (1958, dir. Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos)
̶September Nights (1957, dir. Vojtěch Jasný)
̶School for Fathers (1957, dir. Ladislav Helge)
̶Scars of the Past (1957, dir. Václav Krška)

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
12
Direct address:
Speaking directly
to the audience

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
13
The Fist Festival of Czechoslovak Cinema in Banská Bystrica (BB), February 1959
̶BB in the context of other cultural events, aiming to manifest the progress in this sphere and how
tightly is culture directed by the Communist party
̶
̶The minister of culture ad education František Kahuda harshly criticized the aforementioned films
as prime examples of unwelcomed tendencies in socialist cinema
̶
̶„ […] main topics of our films […] are still limited to Prague, to stories of private lives and of
pessimistic nature, adressing issues of certain youth groups only. […] Does healthy family still
exist, are new appartments under construction, do we associate teenagers solely with gangsters, is
alcoholism such an important part of life?“

Adobe Systems
zápatí prezentace
14
The Consequences of BB
̶The proces of decentralization and gradual liberalization was defered for two years
̶
̶Personal changes on top of Barrandov studios (BS) and Czechoslovak State Films (CSF)
̶Stricter censorship >> in the future not only the story should be considered, but political
profiles of its authors and casting as well
̶Some directors were banned from filmmaking for two years; production Creative Group (CG)
Feix-Daniel was cancelled
̶CSF lost the right to greenlight films for distribution on its own in favor of the ministry of
culture and education
̶
̶BS willing to cooperate with next generation of filmmakers (the older directors lost trust of the
studio leadership)
̶