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engaging, almost evocative of Nabokov's novels. a man develops a fetish-like mania for fascism during 1930s Czechoslovakia.
Mar 25, 2025
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It seems like everybody got into the Cremator over the past couple years. Understandably so. Easily one of my favourite films ever made. Looking for more I dove into the scene that spawned it.
The CzSk New Wave came about as a result of a period of political liberalisation in the country. Less government interference meant a greater level of auteurship. Following the Prague Spring this came to an end and many films were banned.
Sometimes overwhelming, full of colour and bizarre dreamlike narratives. Other times slow, plodding and weighted with intense political commentary. These films offer something that youâd be hard pressed to find in another period of cinema. The kind of expressiveness that only comes from new-found liberation and the eye for technical detail that comes from years of rote reproduction under authoritarianism.
5 films to check out:
1 Something Different
2 The Joke
3 Firemanâs Ball
4 Case for a Rookie Hangman
5 Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
When coming up with a top 5 I had to revisit upon realising 4 out of 5 were directed by Jaromil JireĆĄ. Managed to get it down to two, both of which (The Joke and Valerie Her Week of Wonders) are absolute essentials.
Also worthy of note, this was the environment in which Milos Forman cut his teeth.
Jan 17, 2024
The countless atrocities committed by the Nazis have been well-documented in the media, but I canât recall having ever seen a movie that opted to focus on the cold banality of the lives of the Germans who were actively engaged in or complicit with such incredible cruelty. Filmmaker Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin), inspired by Martin Amisâ novel, has decided to tap into this underexplored area, and the chilling result will haunt viewers for days.
Focusing on Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Freidel) and his wife Hedwig (Sandra HĂŒller, both perfectly cast), who are raising their family in a well-appointed home directly adjacent to the camp, we watch them go about their relatively mundane existences. They live better than many of their fellow Germans and have local girls working as servants to help keep up the house, but otherwise much of their time is spent tending to trivial day-to-day tasks, aside from the odd bit of Nazi business that Rudolf attends to from his home office.
Nothing here is truly normal however, a point made very clear shortly into the film when the camera changes its view of the familyâs yard to expose the guard tower just on the other side of the brick wall that abuts the property. Given the proximity to the notorious camp, its noises permeate every aspect of the familyâs lives. The low hum of the furnaces is ever-present, punctuated by screams and gunshots. Frequently trains can be heard bringing more prisoners, puffs of steam appearing over the tree line. Somehow, the Hössâ and their children go about their day as if they donât even notice it.
To celebrate one of the childrenâs birthdays, Hedwigâs mother comes to stay. Initially impressed by the large, well-maintained home and garden, she casually wonders aloud if a Jewish neighbor might be imprisoned next door, complaining that she lost her chance to claim her curtains. As the pair sit on the patio and sounds from the camp impose themselves, she turns to glance at the wall, at least a little discomfited. At night, the sounds of suffering disturb her sleep and she looks out the window, only to see ash and bright flames erupting from a smokestack. She leaves the following morning.
While the atrocities next door are felt throughout almost the entire movie, we never see them. Everything is instead conveyed through Johnnie Burnâs meticulous sound design and the effect is powerful, especially in contrast to the mundanity of everything shown. Cinematographer Ćukasz Ć»alâs striking staging avoids overly prettifying the home while still maintaining a painterly artfulness, often using static, embedded cameras to give the proceedings the sort of voyeuristic feel of reality shows like Big Brother.
A movie may not be the best place to figure out exactly how people can react so blithely to such large-scale inhumanity, so Glazer doesnât really try to do so. It is enough however to be reminded that the behavior is not only something that we as a species are capable of, but that it is necessary for such evil to be enacted. Hopefully the reminder will help to prevent it from happening again. â
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RATED PG-13 FOR THEMATIC MATERIAL, SOME SUGGESTIVE MATERIAL, AND SMOKING.
Feb 21, 2024
the unflinching type of depravity you expect to see in 480p on effedupmovies.com, not in a chain theatre, yet made me want to be much kinder to myself
watch if you like: cronenberg, troma, having physical reactions to art, being a gorgeous woman in a tiny glittery dress
i also recommend fargeatâs other film revenge (2017) which is similarly gnarly.. one thing i love about her style is when her brain cooks up something uniquely gruesome she wants her audience to see every bit of it, not a single cut away in either movie
Sep 23, 2024
Top Recs from @mei
for people interested in capitalism and its effects, psychoanalysis, economics, literature, and anthropology. read it. it will change your life.
Mar 25, 2025
if you enjoy heartfelt, life-changing, engrossing, and beautiful novels, Proust is for you.
Mar 25, 2025
"During the 1990s British philosopher Nick Landâs unique work, variously described as ârabid nihilismâ, âmad black deleuzianismâ and âcybergothicâ, developed perhaps the only rigorous and culturally-engaged escape route out of the malaise of âcontinental philosophyââa route that was implacably blocked by the academy. However, Landâs work has continued to exert an influence, both through the British âspeculative realistâ philosophers who studied with him, and through the many cultural producersâwriters, artists, musicians, filmmakersâwho have been invigorated by his uncompromising and abrasive philosophical vision."
Mar 25, 2025