Category Archives: Czech Republic

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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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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What you don’t take, you won’t have! “Marketa Lazarová” [1967 Czechoslovakia]

Frantisek Vlácil is considered one of the pioneers of the Czech New Wave. Having started out as a graphic artist, Vlácil ventured into film, particularly features, much later in his career, and therefore belonged to an earlier generation to … Continue reading

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A brief review: “Requiem pro panenku” [1991 Czechoslovakia]

Actor-director Filip Renc’s “Requiem pro panenku” [Requiem for a Maiden] is based on true events that happened in 1984, when a troubled fourteen year old girl was interned in the wrong institution – she should have gone into social … Continue reading

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Italian neorealism, Czech-style: “Skrivánci na niti” [1969 Czechoslovakia]

Jirí Menzel was an important part of the Czechoslovak New Wave – a film movement during the 1960’s when a handful of its directors made remarkable observations on society and culture through compelling cinema, and with an openness rarely … Continue reading

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