In 1989, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Czechoslovakia’s peaceful Velvet Revolution ended 40 years of Communist rule, but the trauma of those times is still being recounted by younger generations in films like Beata Parkanova’s The Word (Slovo). Perhaps the great fear of punishment, exile, even torture and death seen in contemporary films is missing here – notably missing, one might say, given that the plot revolves around the main character’s stalwart honesty, which motivates his courageous pushback against the veiled threats of Party henchmen, while downplaying the consequences. Without a real sense of danger hanging over his decision, the drama is much weakened. Yet this simply drawn family drama offers a fair lesson in quiet heroism and civic responsibility that feels particularly timely for our days.
After making several shorts and the 2018 feature-length Moments, which was structured as a series of vignettes, Parkanova tackles the long-form with an original eye to characterization and ambience. The Czech-Slovak-Polish coprod should do some business on the festival circuit and could enjoy a boost from the current surge of interest in Central Europe. But politics apart, audiences will have no trouble connecting to the filmmaker’s intimate description of conjugal love between a husband and wife who have radically unmatched personalities but common moral principles.
The budget may not have been lavish, but production designer Jan Vlcek and D.P. Tomas Juricek capture the period’s dingy tidiness, which mirrors people’s lives full of empty rules. In fact, the Czech summer of 1968 feels much more like America in the 1950s or early ‘60s when law, order and ethical conduct were high values and a person’s word meant something. In the spacious, old-fashioned office where the respected Vaclav Vojir (Martin Finger) works as a notary public, he not only mediates between bickering heirs but delivers sermons on right and wrong conduct appropriate for community life. His wife Vera (Gabriela Mikulkova) is a model housewife adept at icing cakes and disciplining their two kids. Her hair pulled back severely and stiffly but impeccably dressed, she comes off as a shrewish martinet and micromanager who admits no infractions of house rules by offspring or spouse. Remarkably, Vaclav just ignores her bossiness and enjoys his family.
Self-confident of his own strong moral values, he stands up to two tough Communist Party recruiters who barge into his office and with mafia-like tactics demand he join up or else. Vaclav refuses to give them his word and they leave, promising to return. This scene, which is repeated later on, could have used some sprucing up to avoid the routine and heighten the conflict.
The one thing that really shakes Vaclav up (though it leaves Vera unruffled, showing who’s tougher) is the Soviet invasion of Prague with Warsaw Pact troops in August 1968. It’s the time of Dubcek’s reformist government and the Prague Spring, though this background info is not in the film and may not be obvious to non-Czech audiences, who simply find Vaclav slumped in the living room chair, unable to speak and afraid to leave the house. He looks like a different man: bereft of his smug self-confidence and moral authority, he looks afraid for the first time.
Not so Vera, who nurses him in bed when she can’t shake him out of it. Her extraordinary strength and resilience are put to the test when his illness – which seems very much like severe depression – requires professional help. Her tendency to petty household tyranny now turns into an admirable refusal to give up, leading to a low-key but satisfying ending that blends the couple’s different personalities together in a very tough moment.
Finger and Mikulkova, who start out as humorous near-caricatures of extreme types, get a chance to broaden and deepen their motivations by exercising their moral fiber, a satisfying process to watch if occasionally a little bumpy. As Vera’s sister and brother-in-law, Jenovefa Bokova and Marek Geisberg add credibility in key supporting roles.
Director, screenplay: Beata Parkanova
Cast: Martin Finger, Gabriella Mikulkova, Jenovéfa Bokova, Marek Geisberg, Antonie Formanova, Ondrej Sokol, Lea Banko, Tatjana Medvecka, Vladimir Polivka
Producer: Vojtech Fric
Cinematography: Tomas Juricek
Editing: Alois Fisarek
Production and costume design: Jan Vlcek
Music: Jan P. Muchow
Sound: Viktor Krivosudsky
Production companies: love.FRAME in association with Azyl Production, Kijora, Bontonfilm Studios, Czech TV
Venue: KVIFF Film Festival (Crystal Globe competition)
In Czech
104 minutes
