With this film about the lethal effects of nationalism, Czech director Bohdan Sláma once again proves himself a cinematic master. Filmed in starkly beautiful, black-and-white 35mm, his seventh feature encompasses the years 1930 – 1950 and follows life in the fictitious Czech village of Schwarzwald, located on the border of Austria. The population of Czechs, German-speakers and Jews are torn between conflicting identities and nationalities at the best of times, but with the advance of the Nazis, the inhabitants must choose – allegiance to the Reich and the promise of farming subsidies, or Czech nationality and poverty. Jews in the community are targeted, their businesses vandalized. Neighbors turn against neighbors and petty grudges wreak deadly consequences. Crowned best Czech film of 2020 by domestic critics, it also nabbed 6 Czech Lions. “A subtle yet very deliberate excoriation of groupthink in an age where it is rampant, making this Czech epic necessary viewing.” – Jeff Hawkins, DMovies (Alissa Simon)
Director Biography
Born in 1967 in Opava, Czechoslovakia, Bohdan Sláma is the director of the short films “Stvanice” (1992), “Garden of Eden (Zahrádka ráje)” (1994), “White Acacias (Akáty bílé)’ (1997) and the features Wild Bees (Divoké vcely) (2001), Something Like Happiness (Stestí) (2005), A Country Teacher (Venkovsky ucitel) (2008), Four Suns (2012) and Ice Mother (Bába z led) (2017).
Sponsors
