Overview of articles
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Pearls of the Deep
A manifesto of the Czechoslovak New Wave, this omnibus film consists of five shorts by five filmmakers. Němec’s segment, Impostors, is a portrait of tPublished on: -
The Life of Singer Marta Kubišová Through the Eyes of Jan Němec
Portrait of the poster child of the Prague Spring, who was a major pop star before the Soviet tanks rolled in, only to see her…Published on: -
Arnošt Lustig Through the Eyes of Jan Němec
A visionary portrait of Arnošt Lustig, survivor of the Holocaust and prominent Czech writer, whose works deeply influenced Jan NPublished on: -
The Party and the Guests
An idyllic picnic with a group of friends is interrupted by an invasion by authoritative strangers, who playfully turn the picnickers into theirPublished on: -
The Wolf from Royal Vineyard Street
For the final film of his career, Němec adapted his recent book of quasi-autobiographical stories; based on his life, but not without mystifPublished on: -
Landscape of My Heart
A visit to Prague by the most powerful man in the world coincides with Jan Němec’s heart operation. He captures both events in a philosophical viPublished on: -
A Memory for the Present
Disturbing archival images of World War Two are juxtaposed with Němec’s observations of a post-war ‘liberated’ Czechoslovakia. A montage as a visual pPublished on: -
Martyrs of Love
A luscious non-political musical comedy, this three-part ballad uses music to stand in for dialogue. Mounting a defense of timid, inhibited, clumsy anPublished on: -
A Loaf of Bread
Czechoslovakia during the Nazi occupation. Young prisoners exhausted by famine plan to steal some bread from a German train. Němec’s first film alreadPublished on: -
Between Minute 4 and 5
Forbidden to work on fiction, Němec was assigned to direct a social documentary. Focusing on Prague’s emergency services, this was his lastPublished on: