Category Archives: Other Slavic Cinema

A review: “DAU. Natasha” [2020, Russia, Germany, Ukraine]

Rarely does one bump into a film with an ambiguous origin, uncertain of the exact time that the first seed of an idea was sown. While we might have encountered films made from ‘found-footage’ or other reality shows, nothing … Continue reading

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A film review: “I, Olga Hepnarova” [2016 Czech Rep., Poland]

Petr Kazda and Tomás Weinreb make a memorable directorial feature film debut with their biopic, “I, Olga” [Orig. Title: Já, Olga Hepnarová]. Olga Hepnarová was the last woman to be executed in Czechoslovakia in 1975 after she was found … Continue reading

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Detached, but rooted: “Sedím na konári a je mi dobre” [1989, Czechoslovakia]

Juraj Jakubisko, like many of his contemporaries of the Czechoslovak New Wave, had an uncanny ability to weave elements of local myth, legend, and fantasy into a uniquely Slavic narrative that spoke directly to its audience. Often bordering on … Continue reading

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Sometimes, subtitles can be a hindrance: “Plemya” [2014, Ukraine]

Miroslav Slaboshpytskiy makes an assured feature film début with his astonishing film, “Plemya” [Eng. Title: the Tribe]. With dialogues entirely in Ukrainian sign-language (which the director himself is not fluent in) and presented without subtitles, voice-overs, or even background music, it forces … Continue reading

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A review: “Pupendo” [2003, Czech Rep.]

Jan Hrebejk’s comedy “Pupendo” takes a wry look at the last days of communist Czechoslovakia by comparing the fortunes of two families who, though ideologically similar, adapt to life under the regime in starkly contrasting ways.
Bedrich (Bolek Polívka), a … Continue reading

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