(Skrivánci na niti, Jirí Menzel, Czechoslovakia 1969, 94 min., 35mm, Czech with English subtitles)
Private moments are hard to come by in post-war Czechoslovakia. Whether it’s the recitation of a poem, a philosophical conversation, the playing of a saxophone, or a simple flirtation, all are looked on with suspicion by the government and its agents. Following a group of “bourgeois” citizens forced to work in a scrapyard connected to a women’s prison, Larks on a String takes a critical view of the country’s Communist regime. A professor, a prosecutor, a dairyman, a barber, and a cook toil to destroy the emblems of the past while the administration sets up photo ops and romance blossoms across the fence. Made in 1969 but banned until after the Velvet Revolution, master Czech director Menzel (Closely Watched Trains) explores the personal cost of totalitarianism.
Upcoming Events in this Series
Film Screenings | Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (35mm)
A Summer Trip through Europe(an Cinema) | The Sight & Sound Club One night, Emmi (Brigitte Mira), an aging cleaning woman, wanders into an unfamiliar bar during a downpour. She ends up dancing with a young Moroccan guest worker named Ali (El Hedi ben Salem). Soon they are close friends, then lovers, then they decide to be married, despite their near 20 year age difference.
Film Screenings | Eternity and a Day (35mm)
A Summer Trip through Europe(an Cinema) An elderly poet in Greece, alone and near death, takes comfort in memories of a happier time and the companionship of a young Albanian refugee.