A poignant overview of how short life can be, this interesting drama from Czech director Vojetch Jasny is divided into four separate segments. In the first skit, a young child's impressions are observed as his newborn baby sister becomes a part of the family. In the second, a young woman falls in love for the first time one summer, and in the third, a tough, older peasant woman battles against the farming cooperatives. Finally, in the last segment, everything comes full circle as a woman who is about to become a grandmother dies while her daughter-in-law has not yet given birth.
Cinematography
Lush Moravian landscapes that breathe with the characters.
Direction
Jasný weaves four tones into one cohesive meditation.
Writing
Segment three's peasant woman—fierce, unsentimental, unforgettable.
Director
Vojtěch Jasný
Václav Babka
Father (segment "O chlapci, který hledal konec sveta")
Věra Bublíková
Vlastimil Brodský
Shoemaker Novosad (segment "Andela")
Jana Brejchová
Lenka (segment "Lidé na zemi a hvezdy na nebi")
Jiří Vala
Jan (segment "Lidé na zemi a hvezdy na nebi")
František Vnouček
Father (segment "Lidé na zemi a hvezdy na nebi")
Otto Šimánek
Brother-in-law (segment "Lidé na zemi a hvezdy na nebi")
Věra Tichánková
Andela (segment "Andela")
Václav Lohniský
Michal (segment "Andela")
Zdeněk Řehoř
Vladimír Brabec
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during the brief Czechoslovak thaw before 1968 Soviet invasion; Jasný later defected.
The circular structure mirrors Karel Hynek Mácha's poem 'Máj'—Czech national literary obsession with time and mortality.
XC
