1968 Flashforward: Jan Nemec Then and Now
Jan Němec was born in Prague in 1936. A maverick filmmaker even by Czech New Wave standards, he has been preoccupied with his home city for most of his life.
Jan Nemec in the mid-1960s
In the late 1950s Nemec attended FAMU, the Czechoslovakian state film school in Prague in a period when Czechoslovakia was run by a Soviet-controlled puppet government. Artistic and public expression was subject to extreme censorship and government review. This gave rise to underground, subversive and revolutionary movements throughout Prague and the country that we now know as the Czech New Wave. This activity inspired the likes of Nemec to make their films as a reaction against the regime.
Although not Jewish himself, Němec directed the influential Holocaust-themed film, Diamonds of the Night (1964) and it was his first success. Although it passed the censors' it helped lay the foundation for the emeging political movement that was coming. Nemec's most notorious work was A Report on the Party and the Guests (1966). Intended as as political allegory about communism, the plot concerned a group of friends on a picnic who are invited to a bizarre banquet by a charismatic sadist who eventually bullies them into blind conformity and brutality. After this film Nemec earned the dubious infamy of being "banned for life" by the government.
Although the ban cut off his ability to make films as it was illegal and dangerous to work or associate with banned individuals, it had the reverse effect of what was intended as it virually ensured everyone would find a way to see it. He also continued to make films underground and his next-most important work, Oratorio for Prague, a documentary condemning the Soviets' actions in crushing the Prague Spring of 1968, was originally released without credits so that the makers would escape punishment from the KGB. Nemec, however, would leave Czechoslovakia at the end of the 60's and worked abroad
Němec's style is praised for its psychological depth juxtaposed with a spontaneous visual approach. Coming back home after the Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic, nemec has continued working in Prague again. I have focused on a recent film that has seen him embrace the medium of digital filmmaking. The film is the autobiographical Late Night Talks with Mother.
Late Night Talks with Mother Review
Jan Nemec’s autobiographical piece Late Night Talks with Mother is partly based on the work of Kafka’s A Letter to his Father, but whereas that dealt with a man’s relationship with his father, Nemec’s film takes on the subject of his long-dead mother. Nemec’s film concentrates on what his mother might have thought about the events in his life after her death. We follow the journey with his Digital camera to the street in Prague where he grew up and where his mother died, to his life afterwards. Nemec wasn’t at his mother’s side when she passed on and his regret at this is evident beneath the film’s premise.
The 16mm or sumptuous 35mm option to portray a romantic reflection on days gone by, or the heroism of the people of Prague in the face of adversity is rejected, but there is some archive footage. Nemec is credited as being the first filmmaker to capture the Russian Tanks rolling into the streets of Prague in ’68. Even though we’ve seen various films on this event since, in the context of this autobiographical film it is truly poignant.
More than just a video diary or a biography of a life, Late Night Talks with Mother is a film about Prague before and after Nemec’s exile. There is some footage of him in the States with cameos from the likes of celebrity friends. Back home, Nemec’s shadow is seen as he walks through the Prague streets, with Karl Roden’s voice-over expressing his thoughts. Nemec’s ex-wife Ester Krumbachova also appears, with a word of advice for her ex-husband, mainly that he drinks heavily to subvert the reality he doesn’t like. Nemec goes wild and experimental with his camera and the use of contemporary mediums exemplifies memories of a life from a future perspective.
Jan Němec was born in Prague in 1936. A maverick filmmaker even by Czech New Wave standards, he has been preoccupied with his home city for most of his life.
Jan Nemec in the mid-1960sIn the late 1950s Nemec attended FAMU, the Czechoslovakian state film school in Prague in a period when Czechoslovakia was run by a Soviet-controlled puppet government. Artistic and public expression was subject to extreme censorship and government review. This gave rise to underground, subversive and revolutionary movements throughout Prague and the country that we now know as the Czech New Wave. This activity inspired the likes of Nemec to make their films as a reaction against the regime.
Although not Jewish himself, Němec directed the influential Holocaust-themed film, Diamonds of the Night (1964) and it was his first success. Although it passed the censors' it helped lay the foundation for the emeging political movement that was coming. Nemec's most notorious work was A Report on the Party and the Guests (1966). Intended as as political allegory about communism, the plot concerned a group of friends on a picnic who are invited to a bizarre banquet by a charismatic sadist who eventually bullies them into blind conformity and brutality. After this film Nemec earned the dubious infamy of being "banned for life" by the government.
Although the ban cut off his ability to make films as it was illegal and dangerous to work or associate with banned individuals, it had the reverse effect of what was intended as it virually ensured everyone would find a way to see it. He also continued to make films underground and his next-most important work, Oratorio for Prague, a documentary condemning the Soviets' actions in crushing the Prague Spring of 1968, was originally released without credits so that the makers would escape punishment from the KGB. Nemec, however, would leave Czechoslovakia at the end of the 60's and worked abroad
Němec's style is praised for its psychological depth juxtaposed with a spontaneous visual approach. Coming back home after the Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic, nemec has continued working in Prague again. I have focused on a recent film that has seen him embrace the medium of digital filmmaking. The film is the autobiographical Late Night Talks with Mother.
Late Night Talks with Mother Review
Jan Nemec’s autobiographical piece Late Night Talks with Mother is partly based on the work of Kafka’s A Letter to his Father, but whereas that dealt with a man’s relationship with his father, Nemec’s film takes on the subject of his long-dead mother. Nemec’s film concentrates on what his mother might have thought about the events in his life after her death. We follow the journey with his Digital camera to the street in Prague where he grew up and where his mother died, to his life afterwards. Nemec wasn’t at his mother’s side when she passed on and his regret at this is evident beneath the film’s premise.
The 16mm or sumptuous 35mm option to portray a romantic reflection on days gone by, or the heroism of the people of Prague in the face of adversity is rejected, but there is some archive footage. Nemec is credited as being the first filmmaker to capture the Russian Tanks rolling into the streets of Prague in ’68. Even though we’ve seen various films on this event since, in the context of this autobiographical film it is truly poignant.
More than just a video diary or a biography of a life, Late Night Talks with Mother is a film about Prague before and after Nemec’s exile. There is some footage of him in the States with cameos from the likes of celebrity friends. Back home, Nemec’s shadow is seen as he walks through the Prague streets, with Karl Roden’s voice-over expressing his thoughts. Nemec’s ex-wife Ester Krumbachova also appears, with a word of advice for her ex-husband, mainly that he drinks heavily to subvert the reality he doesn’t like. Nemec goes wild and experimental with his camera and the use of contemporary mediums exemplifies memories of a life from a future perspective.
posted by Steven Yates at 11:39 AM
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