Film about human fanaticism that is always blind and dangerous ! irrespective of its aspirations. It is Autumn 1950. In a Czech village, people’s cattle are being brought together in a collective farm. Suddenly they hear shots and soon discover a rich farmer lying dead in his farmyard among his cows and horses, that have also been killed. His daughter, a beautiful young nun, is the only survivor. The contradictions in the village escalate around Christmas. The young nun, who regards herself as the bride of Christ, reveal herself to be a real champion of the old order and, as such, is greeted by the Communists with incomprehension and hostility. Kachyna’s images in are of a rough and almost graphic beauty. All the characters, leading roles and supporting cast, have been portrayed with much love and feeling for detail and not without humour. When the film was released, the realistic picture painted by Kachyna of collectivisation did him no good: it was far from the official line that the government liked to project on the fifties.
