In search of authenticity: Věra Chytilová's films from two eras

Čulík, J. (2018) In search of authenticity: Věra Chytilová's films from two eras. Studies in Eastern European Cinema, 9(3), pp. 198-218. (doi: 10.1080/2040350X.2018.1469197)

Abstract

Czech film maker Vera Chytilova was the first woman ever who was allowed to study film direction at FAMU, the Film Academy in Prague. She was an important member of the generation of the Czech New Wave of the 1960s. Particularly well known internationally is Chytilova's film Daisies, which is regarded by critics as a highly innovative contribution to world cinema. This article traces the history of Chytilová's artistic development through the liberal 1960s in communist Czechoslovakia, when film making was free of ideological and commercial pressures, and compares it with her work made in the 1970s and 1980s, in an era when Czechoslovak film makers were under ideological pressure and worked in a society which had adopted conformism and consumerism. While it would appear that Chytilová mostly gave up her bold stylistic experimentation in this period of ‘normalisation’, she never gave up her personal integrity and successfully communicated her moral concern even under conditions of strong censorship and bureaucratic pressure.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Culik, Dr Jan
• Authors: Čulík, J.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > Slavonic Studies
• Journal Name: Studies in Eastern European Cinema
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 2040-350X
• ISSN (Online): 2040-3518
• Published Online: 14 May 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor and Francis Group
• First Published: First published in Studies in Eastern European Cinema 9(3): 198-218
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy