Way Through the Bleak Woods
Black-and-white parable set in Šumava on the eve of the First World War.
- Cesta pustým lesem
- Czechia 1997
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- English
- 85 min.
- Accessible
A strongly lyrical, quasi-balladic black-and-white piece that acquaints us with fragments of the lives of people from a small village hidden in the depths of the Bohemian Forest. The characters appear to move about in a state of timelessness; their inner solitude, frustrated desires, and the sense that they are condemned to perpetual wandering do not inspire hope that they will find a way out. The visually powerful leitmotif of the sylvan labyrinth, in which paths disappear between the tall trees or beneath a mantle of snow, thus acquires symbolic value. News of the outbreak of World War I at the end of the film only heightens the bleakness of the message conveyed by documentarist Ivan Vojnár in his feature film directorial debut.
Read moreCzech Lions
1997 – Vladimír Labský (Best Design Achievement)
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