Pearls on the ocean floor
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Pearls on the ocean floor |
| Original title | Perličky na dně |
| Country of production | Czechoslovakia |
| original language | Czech |
| Publishing year | 1966 |
| length | 107 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Věra Chytilová (I) Jan Němec (II) Jiří Menzel (III) Evald Schorm (IV) Jaromil Jireš (V) |
| script | Věra Chytilová Jan Němec Jiří Menzel Evald Schorm Jaromil Jireš |
| production | František Sandr |
| music |
Jan Klusák Jiří Šust |
| camera | Jaroslav Kučera |
| cut |
Miroslav Hájek Jiřina Lukešová |
| occupation | |
|
First episode Second episode Third episode
Fourth episode
Fifth episode | |
Pearls on the Sea Floor (original title: Perličky na dně ) is a Czechoslovakian film by the directors Věra Chytilová , Jan Němec , Jiří Menzel , Evald Schorm and Jaromil Jireš from 1965. They also wrote the scripts for the five episodes. They are based on short stories by Bohumil Hrabal . The film was released in cinemas in his home country on January 7, 1966. In the Federal Republic of Germany it only had its premiere on November 13, 2008 at the Cottbus Film Festival as part of the retrospective “Prague Spring and the Consequences”.
action
Episode I: Automat world
While the wedding is being celebrated in a wet, happy and turbulent pub, a young girl hangs herself unnoticed by the guests. A man walks into the bar and says that his suicidal girlfriend has disappeared. They had met in his studio when he was making a death mask. She demanded that he take a mask off her too. She almost suffocated.
The drunk bride comes into the dining room, meets the man, and the two go away together. In the park outside, the man tears the bridal veil and hangs the pieces on stakes. That is not enough for him: he also wants to tear up the wedding dress. The bride allows him on one condition: he must make her a death mask.
Episode II: The Cheaters
Two old men talk about their lives in the hospital. The former chorister becomes a celebrated hero tenor, the employee of a gardening magazine becomes a successful journalist. The corpse washer recognizes her as a fraud, but pretends to be a doctor in front of a patient.
Episode III: Mr. Balthazar's Death
At a motorcycle race, a legless spectator talks about his international racing successes before his accident that crippled him. The race demands the life of a driver. He is carried away quickly; the competition continues; the loudspeakers blar again. The fatal accident is only briefly hinted at. A bitter tendency: it doesn't depend on the individual; man and the human get under the wheels.
Episode IV: A House of Joy
This episode leads into the child-like, naive world of images of an amateur painter who covers the walls of his house with colorful Chagall works. The representatives of an insurance company find that there is nothing to be insured here. A declaration of love to a colorful, unreflective fairy tale world.
Episode V: Romance
"Romance" is the love story between a gypsy girl and a young plumber. The two have barely met each other when the young gypsy is already making plans for a life together. The clumsy young man quickly gives in to the girl's vitality. They visit the gypsy camp together, but their grandfather receives them with the gun. The short luck is already over.
Criticism and award
The Protestant film observer is full of praise: “An episode film made up of 5 short films by young Czechoslovak directors. The underlying narratives are characterized by great sincerity in the contemplation of life, which is portrayed partly absurdly, partly with black humor, partly tragicomic. Recommended to everyone. ”The episode“ Romance ”was awarded the“ Grand Prize for Short Feature Films ”at the International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen in 1966 .
Web links
- Pearl on the seabed in theInternet Movie Database(English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Source: Evangelischer Filmbeobachter , Evangelischer Presseverband München, Review No. 193/1966, pp. 370–371
- ↑ Evangelischer Filmbeobachter, 1966, p. 150