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Summer in the city... of Bratislava
Milan Kundera once said that the Czech culture of the 1960s was a key moment of the 20th century European culture. And it is true that was an all the more wonderful decade as it was sandwiched between dark times stained with blood (Stalinism) and depressingly drab ones (the Normalization era). For a time Czech and Slovak artists (among whom directors Forman, Chytilova, Menzel, Nemec...) managed to break down the barrier of orthodox thinking. Thanks to them, human beings (however imperfect they may be) were brought back to the fore and truth (however inglorious) was placed above propaganda. Not without a good dose of causticity and cruelty; but.., you know, spare the rod and spoil the child! Dusan Hanak, the far too overlooked Slovak director of this little known short belongs to the league of those talented artists who, by capturing the spirit of the time, revitalized their national cinema. During the 12 minutes running time of 'Old Shatterhand Came To See Us', Hanak indeed shows us things and people as he sees them, not through the prism of party ideologues. Nor for that matter in a neutral, objective way (supposing there is such a thing as that) : this is indeed not a plain documentary reporting reality, it is a look on reality with an asserted point of view, the paradox being that "Old Shatterhand" may describe the town of Bratislava in the Summer of 1966 much better than if it had been filmed according to the rule book. The mid-sixties were a time when Czechoslovakia was beginning to be "invaded" by foreign tourists, particularly from beyond the Iron Curtain ; in such a context Hanak's obvious purpose was to illustrate through image, sound and editing a series of contrasts. One of these emanates from the linguistic gap between the "extra-terrestrials" from the West and the natives (who on earth spoke Czech back in the 60s, except the Czechs themselves?); another from the social gap between the haves (all those foreigners with their fascinating cars...) and the less affluent locals (including young gypsies shown begging); and a third one between the pomposity of official propaganda (through communist songs heard off with words such as 'We are a wonderful crew, the world is ours!') and the triviality of reality (a potbellied road worker lazing leaning on a shovel handle; a young worker with his cigarette stuck in his mouth peeping after a cute blonde, etc.).
An end achieved all the more brilliantly as Dusan Hanak does it without a spoken commentary or direct sound recording, the whole thing being enhanced by the author's cutting-edge irony and total skepticism. Dusan Hanak is undoubtedly a faithful consort of Kundera, Forman and the other masters of Czech (and Slovak) humor. Like them, he joyfully puts itching powder in the back of all pretenses and hypocrisies. Message heard loud and clears by the censors of the time : they shelved the film. But never mind them, they have all vanished into oblivion while this little gem is still there for you to be discovered.
An end achieved all the more brilliantly as Dusan Hanak does it without a spoken commentary or direct sound recording, the whole thing being enhanced by the author's cutting-edge irony and total skepticism. Dusan Hanak is undoubtedly a faithful consort of Kundera, Forman and the other masters of Czech (and Slovak) humor. Like them, he joyfully puts itching powder in the back of all pretenses and hypocrisies. Message heard loud and clears by the censors of the time : they shelved the film. But never mind them, they have all vanished into oblivion while this little gem is still there for you to be discovered.
helpful•30
- guy-bellinger
- Aug 2, 2014
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- Old Shatterhand Came to See Us
- Filming locations
- Bratislava, Slovakia(natural setting of the documentary)
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime12 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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Top Gap
By what name was Prisiel k nám Old Shatterhand (1966) officially released in Canada in English?
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