NinadeL

"A Streetcar Named Desire" is one of Tennessee Williams' most famous plays. I've seen the emergence of young Brando several times and can only tick off the entry from post-war US cinema, for this is not a gem. But if I think more about Vivien Leigh's career, I can happily conclude that she has spent her life acting only to become Blanche DuBois for good, because all her sassy protagonists seem to have followed in the footsteps of this desperate being.

For international admirers of Greta Garbo, The Saga of Gösta Berling (1924) can be a difficult film to find. For an audience accustomed to her Hollywood films, it is not easy to perceive the full context of the Swedish adaptations of the works of the Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Selma Lagerlöf, who was regularly discussed with great intensity by Victor Sjöström and Mauritz Stiller after 1917. The important thing is to see a copy offering both parts, nothing abridged for an American audience. Today's view of the film often skims over the magical connection between Stiller and Garbo, who guided her through all the pitfalls on her journey from Sweden via Germany to Hollywood but only had the opportunity to direct her once in America (and was replaced by Fred Nibble before The Temptress was finished...). Still, it's worth paying attention to other aspects of this excellent melodrama from the golden era of Swedish silent cinema; there's the great Lars Hanson, the fascinating atmosphere, and the closed world of people addicted to the freezing nature. From time to time it is good to indulge in it.

Surprisingly, even outside the 100th anniversary of František Čáp's birthday, Vesna is worth paying attention to. A debauched tale as if tastefully transposed from pre-war Czechoslovakia to post-war Yugoslavia. Or boys before graduation, gossipy grandmothers, one professor with a frown, and one girl who would like to experience great love. It’s playful, pleasantly old-fashioned, and tasteful all at the same time. I wonder what the sequel is like.

In the same way that I'd never seen Howards End, I had The Remains of the Day tucked away as a vague memory of an interesting trailer from the days of VHS rentals. However, the impression was so strong that it was easy to get excited about the possibility of seeing the whole film on the big screen. And indeed, it did not disappoint - on the contrary, it exceeded expectations. Strong acting performances all round, just the way I like it.

I had an impression of the film Poor Girl shortly after the year 2000 when I first saw that famous poster by Martin Frič. The combination of the perfectly magical face of Marwille and the demon of the big city was almost hypnotic. And while not even 20 years had passed, I had the opportunity to confront my impression with the actual film. As the classic says, patience is a virtue. Today, I'm feeling great, I can revel in five whole films from the Marwille era under Frič's direction, both silent and sound. Is it any surprise then that I don't find a speck of anything to criticize in Poor Girl? Few cinematic dreams offer such an individualized tale to delight. This one offers one of the best-photographed couples - Marwille in the arms of Rubík, which is a great asset in and of itself. Poor Girl moves, titillates, and excites us. In the end, it is impossible to even draw in breath. A mere recommendation is nothing. Harmony is above everything.

A documentary that will raise the question of whether we know everything from a person’s private life. A documentary like this is bad. But I get it, Marvan is a magnet that generates a whole library of gossip, cookbooks, and luscious stories under the auspices of a popular actor's name, so why make a better TV film, right? All the information is drowned in glean, collegiality, and, of course, in this selection, Just stands out, because he is the only one who knows what he is talking about. Stories of boudoirs, feet in the sink, and a lecture on the Aryan struggle. Futility.

It's the endless narrative again, this time on the subject of Josef Kemr. The acting colleagues evaluate his love life and Jan Hrušínský adds context. Rösner appreciates his rebellious soul, and describes him as the high priest of the revolution and his second wife emotionally recalls the mourning of his bitch. It’s interesting perhaps only for reminding us of his second wife, Marika Skopalová, who is not usually written about. More often than not, we read about his first wife Eva Foustková.

An ironic normalization blend on the theme of love. Brutally funny are the youthful scenes of Schaller and Kaiser and of course their classmates Kraus and Zavřel. The mature romance between Dvorská and Velecký is better. On the other hand, the supposedly awkward stylization is refreshing and even a film like Love feels fresh during the period of the incredible crap at the beginning of normalization.

It's a huge shame that we see Kirsten Dunst in costume dramas so rarely! She is usually seen as a modern face from the present or from various decades of the 20th century, but opulent silhouettes with corsets and wide skirts and fabulously melancholic protagonists are rare pleasures indeed. True, early on there was Interview with the Vampire and Little Women, but after that cruelly passionate combination of Turgenev and Chekhov, Kirsten was offered only Marie Antoinette. And yet I think the heat and great feelings of romantic characters from great literature would suit her admirably. It's fascinating to watch her, barely twenty years old, breaking the hearts of a whole cohort of grown men, playing with them and, of course, loving the one who is still too young for real life the most.

A panopticon of madness. What kind of movie is this, anyway? An adventure? An educational mess? A guide to life? A study of human destiny? Everything and nothing. It's so damn futile. And, of course, there is love in it. Both mature and teenage. After all, Marie Kyselková was really more of a mannequin than an actress.