Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Czech film-maker Jan Švankmajer is celebrated for his bizarre, surrealist
animation work and stop-motion feature films, including his 1988 version
of
Alice in Wonderland (Něco z Alenky)
and his 1994 classic,
Faust
(Lekce Faust)
.
Kafka's Czech contemporary, and polar opposite, was the pub scribe Jaroslav
Hašek (1883-1923), author of
The Good Soldier Švejk,
a book that is loved and re-
viled in equal doses. For those who get the jokes, it is a comic masterpiece of a bum-
bling, likeable Czech named Švejk and his (intentional or not) efforts to avoid military
service for Austria-Hungary during WWI. Czechs tend to bridle at the assertion that
an idiot like Švejk could somehow embody any national characteristic.
CZECHS ON FILM
Though films have been made on the territory of the Czech Republic since the dawn
of motion pictures in the early 20th century, it wasn't until the 1960s and the Czech
New Wave that Czechoslovak film first caught the attention of international audien-
ces.
The 1960s was a decade of relative artistic freedom, and
talented young directors such as Miloš Forman and Jiří
Menzel crafted bittersweet films that charmed moviegoers
with their grit and wit, while at the same time poking critical
fun at their communist overlords. During that decade,
Czechoslovak films twice won the Oscar for Best Foreign
Language Film, for the
Little Shop on Main Street
in 1965
and
Closely Watched Trains
in 1967. Forman eventually left
the country and went on to win Best Picture Oscars for
One
Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
and
Amadeus
.
Hollywood
Films Shot in
Prague
Amadeus
(1980)
Mission Impossible
(1996)
Hostel
(2005)
Since the Velvet Revolution, Czech directors have
struggled to make meaningful films, given the tiny budgets
and a constant flood of Hollywood blockbusters. At the
same time, they've had to endure non-stop critical scrutiny
that their output meet the high standards for Czech films set
during the New Wave.
Casino Royale
(2006)
The Chronicles of Nar-
nia: Prince Caspian
(2008)
Given these high expectations, the newer Czech directors
have largely succeeded, settling for smaller, ensemble-driv-
en films that focus on the hardships and moral ambiguities
