Monday, July 23, 2012

Night of the Bride (1967)

Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)
Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)
Czech New Wave
Genre: Drama
Director: Karel Kachyna
Starring: Jana Brejchová, Mnislav Hofmann, Gustáv Valach, Josef Kemr
Language: Czech
Duration: 90 min.
Rating: 7.4
Summary:
Autumn and Winter 1950 in a small Czech village, the setting of turbulent religious feelings and violent resistance to forced collectivization.
Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)
Night of the Bride, also known as The Nun's Night, is a film directed by Karel Kachyna, adapted from a novel written by Jan Procházka. One of a dozen such collaborations from the prolific director and writing team during the Czech New Wave, which include three titles previously reviewed here, The High Wall (1964), Long Live the Republic (1965), and Coach to Vienna (1966).

It's a dark fable, set in an early 1950's Czech village. A time of Soviet-style socialism which saw the implementation of collectivized agriculture, as well as the mass closure of monasteries and convents.

The film starts with a poetic opening credits sequence. A seemingly unrelated mixture of religious and violent imagery: candles burning, a nun getting dressed and then walking out into a snow covered field, a stone thrown through a window, a man cleaning, loading, and aiming his rifle; all setting the stage for the highly suggestive and lyrical film to come.

Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)

The real story begins during a rain storm, the entire village is gathered together for the collectivization process. Here the local party leader Picin (Mnislav Hofman) speaks, presumably about the glorious prosperity and joy to come, but we don't hear his words. We see only his gestures, and the dour faces of the villagers as the rain pours down on them, contrasted with ironic clips of the imaginary future utopia of bountiful harvests that is promised to all.

One by one, each household is called upon over loudspeakers to hand over the compulsory amount of livestock to the collective, and all goes well until gunfire is heard. Upon investigation, it turns out that instead of being forced to give up his cows, one of the villagers, Konvalinka, has decided to kill them all before turning the gun on himself. Just then, his daughter (Jana Brejchová), a recently evicted nun, returns to the village, igniting a religious fervor amongst the community.

It plays out with an escalating conflict in the village that builds between Picin and his supporters, against the farmers led by respected elder Šabatka (Josef Elsner). Culminating on Christmas eve, as the nun, aided by the town fool Ambrož (in a fabulous performance from Slovak actor, Gustáv Valach), convinces the local pastor (Josef Kemr), to hold midnight mass (a ritual strictly forbidden at the time).

Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)

Seeing how incredibly critical the story is of the political ideology, and how overtly suggestive many of the images are, it's amazing how this film was allowed to be made. There is a clear battle of the classes on display, and pretty much everyone and everything is shown in a negative manner. However, Picin, leader of the communists, is presented in the most unflattering light of all. Mean spirited and powerless despite his position, opposed by everyone, and even openly mocked by some.

Also, the nun (in a possible nod to Buñuel's Viridiana), is constantly depicted in a highly sexualized way. We see her dressed in black lacy undergarments, peeked at through windows and keyholes by various villagers, and she's involved in a number of potentially risqué scenes, one of her alone in a dark barn with two soldiers, and another extremely suggestive sequence of her giving Ambrož a haircut.

This film is an evocative critique on fanatic behavior, with the strong sense of visual lyricism that I've come to expect from Kachyna and Procházka. The cold chill of winter can really be felt in it's atmospheric cinematography, and there are several memorable scenes that I won't soon forget. The story however, and especially the characters don't feel as real as the ones in their previous films. Here they seem to be just symbolic representations, and though interesting to watch, there wasn't that same emotional resonance and I found it difficult to care for any of their fates.
Bonjour Tristesse
Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)

Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)

Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)

Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)

Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)

Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)

Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)

Night of the Bride • Noc nevesty (1967)

6 comments:

The Angry Lurker said...

I like the sound of this, quite strange for me!

d_4 said...

It sounds like it's stronger when you really pay attention. I feel like watching it to be sure, because as it is what I'm getting from it is pretty hard to describe

Bonjour Tristesse said...

It is hard to describe, and with only cursory knowledge of what was going on in those times, I probably didn't get everything out of it either.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Strange and foreign.

Lisa Thatcher said...

What a peculiar film! It seems to almost have a surreal aspect to it and you already made the nod to Viridiana. I wonder if it is an attempt at surrealism or Dadism... Personally I find that "Nun" thing doesn't travel through time all that well. Still, this has enough appeal that I would really like to see it.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I'm not enough of an art history expert to say for sure, but there is a slightly surreal feeling to the visuals here and in Kachyna's other films.

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