Intimate Lighting

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1965

Production year

1965

Premiere

8 April 1966

Runtime

70 min

Director

Ivan Passer

Category

film

Genre

comedy, sad comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Intimní osvětlení

Czech title

Intimní osvětlení

English title

Intimate Lighting

Summary

Screenwriter Ivan Passer, a collaborator of Miloš Forman’s, only made one feature film as director in Czechoslovakia. However, Intimní osvětlení (Intimate Lighting) (1965) is among the most highly rated Czech New Wave pictures. Unlike the films that Passer made after emigrating to the West, the unassuming cinema gem is an unalloyed example of a “non-genre”, casual approach. Nonetheless, the director and co-screenwriters Jaroslav Papoušek and Václav Šašek reaped the maximum from the meeting of two former conservatory classmates. The first of the protagonists, the worldly Petr, has remained in music in Prague and brings his young lover Štěpa on a visit to his pal “in the country”. The married Karel has long abandoned his creative ambitions. He heads a small-town music school, is finishing a house and plays at funerals. Instead of the traditional confrontation of two opposing approaches to life, Passer delivers a tragicomic mosaic imbued with subtle melancholy at the passing of time, dashed dreams and the incompatibility of the masculine and feminine worlds. Both heroes are outwardly successful and contented in their own way. However, boyish one-upmanship and envy gradually spills over into a shared if unattainable desire for change. The intimately stylised narrative capturing several hours of “preserved existence” emanates a self-evident joie de vivre, skilfully conveyed by cinematographers Josef Střecha and Miroslav Ondříček. The casting of non-actors led by Karel Blažek and Zdeněk Bezušek added to the authenticity of this penetrating, enduring and sagely affectionate look at 1960s Czechoslovak reality. The leads are matched harmoniously by singer and actress Věra Křesadlová (Štěpa) and Forman’s professional non-actor Jan Vostrčil (Černý Petr [Black Peter] /1963/, Lásky jedné plavovlásky [Loves of a Blonde] /1965/, Hoří, má panenko [Firemen’s Ball] /1967/, Svatba jako řemen [The Unfortunate Bridegroom] /1967/) as Karel’s father-in-law.

Synopsis

Petr and Karel, friends and colleagues from the conservatory, meet in the town of Tábor in South Bohemia after many years. Karel, nicknamed Bambas during his studies, works as the director of a music school. Petr is to appear as a soloist in a concert of an amateur symphonic orchestra. Petr is accompanied by a young woman named Štěpa. Karel brings the guests into his little new villa and introduces Petr to his whole family. The years of separation, however, have brought some uncertainty into the relationship between the men. The whole day is marked by minor faux pas which escalate during a common lunch. The menu consists of a hen which had been run over by Bambas's new car. Petr and Štěpa also take part in a village funeral where Bambas performs with his father-in-law in order to make extra money to finish the construction of the villa. It is only late in the evening when Petr and Bambas again become close over a bottle of sliwowicz. They listen to music, talk about their unfulfilled dreams, and, late at night, decide to "get out to the world there and play beautiful music". They soon get exhausted by the walk and thus decide to use the new car, but, being intoxicated, they fall asleep in the car. The next day, they wake up with a hangover. The grandmother serves her own "egg-nog". The drink is, however, so thick that it is even impossible to pour it from the glasses.

Cast

Karel Blažek

ředitel hudební školy Karel zvaný Bambas

Zdeněk Bezušek

Petr, Karlův bývalý spolužák

Věra Křesadlová

Štěpa, Petrova přítelkyně

Jan Vostrčil

děda Švehla, Karlův tchán

Jaroslava Štědrá

Maruš, Karlova žena

Vlastimila Vlková

babi Švehlová, Karlova tchyně

Karel Uhlík

lékárník

Miroslav Cvrk

Kája, Karlův syn

Dagmar Ředinová

malá Maruš, Karlova dcera

Martin Štědrý

nemluvně, Karlův druhý syn

Josef Hart

dirigent

Crew and creators

Director

Ivan Passer

Second Unit Director

Jiří Růžička st.

Shooting Script

Ivan Passer

Director of Photography

Josef Střecha, Miroslav Ondříček

Camera Operator

Rudolf Blaháček

Production Designer

Karel Černý

Assistent Production Designer

Miloš Červinka

Set Designer

Oldřich Halaza, František Zajíček

Costume Designer

Zdena Kadrnožková

Make-Up Artist

František Novotný

Assistant Film Editor

Nájemníková

Sound Designer

Adolf Böhm

Production Manager

František Sandr

Unit Production Manager

Ludmila Tikovská, Věra Winkelhöferová

Unit Production Manager

Karel Kovář

Consultant

O. F. Korte (hudba), Josef Hart (hudba)

Cooperation

A. Hořejší (klapka)

Music

Selected Music

Antonín Dvořák (Koncert pro violoncello), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Malá noční hudba), Vojtěch Matyáš Jírovec

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín), Symfonický a dechový orchestr při Osvětové besedě v Táboře (Music Conducted by Josef Hart)

Songs

Darovalo mně děvčátko prstýnek zlacený

Singer sbor

Rybičko, tys němá tvář

Singer sbor

Do lesíčka na čekanou

Song Composer lidová píseňMiloš Vacek /úprava/
Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Intimní osvětlení

Czech Title

Intimní osvětlení

English Title

Intimate Lighting

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy, sad comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1965

Production Year

1965

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 3 March 1965
technical Screenplay approved 8 June 1965
start of filming 14 July 1965
end of filming 12 October 1965
projection approval 21 December 1965
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1972

Premiere

premiere 8 April 1966 /unsuitable for youths/ (kina 64 U Hradeb /2 týdny/, Klub /1 týden/ a Jalta /3 týdny od 6. 5./, Praha)
premiere 8 April 1966 /unsuitable for youths/ (celostátní)
renewed premiere 24 November 2016 /suitable for all ages without limit/

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1966), Národní filmový archiv (obnovená 2016)

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Šebor – Bor, Vladimír Bor (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Jiří Šebor (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

70 min

Original length in metres

1 984 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm, DCP 2-D, BRD

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

black & white

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Event: Anketa filmových kritiků o nejlepší česko-slovenský hraný film století

1998
Praha / Czech Republic

Vítěz

Event: 7. výroční hlasování členů Americké národní společnosti filmových kritiků za rok 1972

1973
New York City / United States of America
Ivan Passer

Vítěz

Event: 4. výroční hlasování členů Americké národní společnosti filmových kritiků za rok 1969

1970
New York City / United States of America
Ivan Passer

Vítěz

Event: Cena Svazu finských filmových kritiků

1968
Helsinky / Finland

Vítěz

Event: 7. mezinárodní setkání filmů pro mládež Cannes

1967
Cannes / France

Vítěz

Event: 7. mezinárodní setkání filmů pro mládež Cannes

1967
Cannes / France