Jiří Trnka: A Long Lost Friend

Joel Farges, a French filmmaker in his 60s, tries to track down the destiny of his favorite childhood film, Prince Bajaja by Jiří Trnka, whose work used to be popular also in France. Trnka’s career peaked during the Cold War and his films were presented as an artistic counterweight to commercial production of Disney. Leftist western intellectuals were amazed; Trnka’s films were narrated by Jean Cocteau and Richard Burton, winning prizes in Cannes and Venice, and for the totalitarian regime they were a valuable export article. Trnka found he had become a puppet himself – a puppet of the political system. His disillusion led him to revolt. He left us a body of work celebrating a unique experience, the freedom associated with eternal youth.