The Day for My Love

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1976

Production year

1976

Premiere

3 June 1977

Runtime

88 min

Director

Juraj Herz

Genre

psychological

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Den pro mou lásku

Czech title

Den pro mou lásku

English title

The Day for My Love

Working title

Koupím ti krásný den

Summary

In the 1970s, even Juraj Herz had to adapt to the requirements for shooting “realist” contemporary films. After the comedy Holky z porcelánu (Girls from a Porcelain Factory, 1974) and the crime movie Holka na zabití (A Girl to Be Killed, 1975), he also made the psychological drama Den pro mou lásku (The Day for My Love, 1976). In 1978, before the similarly conceived, Křehké vztahy (Delicate Relationships, 1979), he had already revisited his penchant for strongly stylised stories thanks to the fairy tales Panna a netvor (The Virgin and the Monster) and Deváté srdce (The Ninth Heart). Day for My love is a low-key tale of a young married couple who lose their little daughter to a horrible disease. The mother – Marie Stašková – struggles with depression. She tries in vain with her husband Petr to conceive another child. Ultimately, however, everything ends happily… The first film screenplay by the successful TV writer Markéta Zinnerová enabled Herz to successfully distance himself from the realities of hard-line socialism that defined the “normalisation” era: he shot a delicate, purely intimate story that was made without the expressionism peculiar to his most famous projects up to that time, such as Spalovače mrtvol (The Cremator, 1968). This timeless film looks at how a death in the family can painfully affect one’s life. An old neighbour becomes a foil to the main heroine. After her husband’s death, she hopes to find a partner in woe in Marie. The active approach to life from the husband, and later from Marie herself, subsequently helps them overcome all their problems… This psychological drama has a slightly lyrical touch, aided by the camerawork of Jiří Macháně, taking account of the heroine’s profession as a photographer, and Marta Vančurová’s delicate acting performance. The director had a greater understanding of Marie and her situation than he did for the character of Petr, who is a rather lacklustre figure (the dancer Vlastimil Harapes who nonetheless made a success of the role of the avian beast in Panna a netvor [The Virgin and the Monster]). The role of the neighbour was played by Jiřina Šejbalová while Herz cast members of the Studio Ypsilon theatre group as wedding guests who perceive a marriage celebration as a kind of happening.

Synopsis

The young Stašek married couple - photographer Marie and civil engineering student Petr - live in a cosy attic flat with their four-year-old daughter Maruška. Petr sometimes goes out for a beer with other students and one night brings a couple of them - hungry and loud - back home with him in early morning hours, much to Marie's discontent. But the two young people have a strong and loving relationship and when Maruška suddenly falls ill they are very distressed. The talkative big-eyed girl is a favourite with the neighbours and the workers in the wreath-making workshop in the building's courtyard. The girl is taken to hospital with severe meningitis and the outcome is tragic - the child dies. Marie sinks into desperate sorrow. Grief-stricken Petr helps her remove from the flat everything that reminds them of Maruška - her many photographs on the walls, her toys and little clothes and her collection of antique watches... Marie is adamant on having another child but her disturbed mental state makes it difficult for her to get pregnant. Petr is finishing his studies and doesn't always have enough energy to keep comforting his wife. Their elderly neighbour Mrs Bernard has recently been widowed and wants to grieve together with Marie. The young woman is deeply affected, and decides to get back to work. Various clients come to her studio and Marie's memories are no longer so heart-rending. It is the beginning of the summer - Petr successfully completes his studies and the couple take a walking tour together. The moments spent in nature are healing for their sorrow. Marie is soon pregnant and eventually gives birth to a boy.