The Salty Rose

Country

Czechoslovakia, Poland

Copyright

1982

Production year

1982

Premiere

1 January 1983

Runtime

83 min

Category

film

Genre

love story

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Slaná růže

Czech title

Slaná růže

English title

The Salty Rose

Co-production title

Słona róża

Summary

Dvojí svět hotelu Pacifik (Behind the Scenes at the Pacific Hotel, 1975), Slaná růže (The Salty Rose, 1982) and Kainovo znamení (The Pass) were all coproduced films exploring historical themes made under the supervision of seasoned Polish director Janusz Majewski. The hero of Slaná růže, inspired by a Ryszard Frelek novel and following a script by Pavel Hajný, is a Pole who in the aftermath of World War II searches the Sudetenland for traces of the lost love of his life. The story segues to 1938 when International Brigades member Marek Wolski meets the beautiful violin player Ida in Carlsbad. Ida later suffers persecution from Konrad Henlein’s Nazi henchmen on account of her Jewish origins. The lovers become separated for several years as the war rages on… Czech actress Daniela Vacková shone among the international cast in the role of Ida, although she was more accustomed to supporting roles. The part of Marek was played by Polish actor Jan Piechociňski.

Synopsis

It is summer 1945 in Carlsbad and Marek Wolski fishes a diamond ring out of the washbasin siphon in the abandoned villa Mimosa. He wants to exchange it for a portrait of a girl with a rose with the middleman Paleček. – In September 1939, the town of Carslbad is full of the Sudeten Nazis, who look forward to the annexation into the German Reich. The young Polish interbrigadist Wolski stays with the dressmaker Malina illegally. He finds a ticket for a concert lying in the street and thus runs to the violin player Ida Fischerová. But the Nazis prevent the musician from performing due to her Jewish origin, even though the girl used to go on successful tours all around Europe until recently. She is enchanted by the young man who bravely stands up for her, and the two get close to each other even despite the overall tricky situation. The cowardly director of the hotel Atlantic makes Ida move away. Ida takes Marek for a trip to the village house of her father's friend, a painter called Hrůša. The Hrůšas, who view them as a couple and lodge them in a single room, unintentionally remove their last restraints. The couple spends several happy days in the house and Hrůša paints Ida's portrait. But the disquieting news about newarmed conflicts in the Sudetenland, overheard on the radio, make the couple return to Carlsbad. At Malina's place, Milan encounters his brother Petr who persuades him to leave. But the young man is in love; he is actually reluctant to flee and would rather spend all his time in the guest house Mimosa with Ida. When the girl washes his hands, her ring slips off of her finger and disappears down the plughole. The couple, however, has other worries. Marek gathers the courage to leave but he eventually jumps out of the train. He searches for Ida, but his effort is vain because the town was taken over by the Nazis. He is caught by the Gestapo in the Hrůšas' abandoned villa and is sent to a concentration camp. The war is over and Marek returns to Carlsbad. He learns from Mrs Hrůšová, whose husband was executed by the Nazis, that Ida may have successfully fled to France. Paleček says that the ring cannot pay for the painting. Marek gets some money from the hotel Atlantic director in exchange for unwillingly confirming his activities as a resistance member. Paleček, however, sold the portrait "to the lady from the painting" in the meantime. Marek finds her but Ida is now the wife of an American named Goodwin. She invites her former boyfriend cordially only in privacy, later showing him her son. The kid is about seven years old and his name is Marek.

Cast

Daniela Vacková

houslistka Ida Fischerová

Jan Piechociński

Voice by Jiří Štěpnička
Polák Marek Wolski

Edward Rączkowski

Voice by Stanislav Fišer
krejčí Malina

Bogusz Bilewski

Voice by Čestmír Řanda
malíř Hrůša

Anna Ciepielewska

Voice by Svatava Hubeňáková
Hrůšova žena

Bronislav Poloczek

Voice by Alois Švehlík
národní správce a překupník Paleček

Jiří Kodeš

Petr, Markův bratr

Andrzej Chrzanowski

Američan Joe Goodwin, Idin manžel

Hanna Banaszak

zpěvačka

Světlana Nálepková

chůva Florence

Václav Vydra

lázeňský

Ferdinand Krůta

starší muž s kolem

Józef Fryźlewicz

Voice by Oldřich Velen
ředitel hotelu Atlantic

Jaroslav Tomsa

policista/henleinovec

Karel Engel

henleinovec

Petr Jákl

henleinovec

Zbyněk Krákora

henleinovec

Jaroslav Klenot

henleinovec

Miroslav Lahoda

henleinovec

Pavel Myslík

henleinovec

Jindřich Sejk

henleinovec

Ludvík Wolf

henleinovec

Pavel Burda

výrostek

Jiří Pokora

klavírista

Andrzej Krasicki

konfident gestapa

Irena Karel

konfidentka gestapa

Zbigniew Buczkowski

gestapák

Jerzy Kryszak

gestapák

Bogdan Łysakowski

gestapák

Bohdan Ejmont

Lothar, Hrůšův přítel

Barbara Wałkówna

Malinova žena

Bohumil Koška

recepční

Břetislav Tetera

pianista

Włodzimierz Adamski

Američan

Leon Charewicz

americký voják

Barbara Dzido-Lelińska

Jan Konieczny

Bogusław Mach

Adam Gwara

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Martin Mahdal, Halina Garus, Waldemar Prokopowicz

Assistant Director

Přemysl Čermák, Beata Ptak

Based on

Ryszard Frelek (Slaná růže /Słona róża/ – novela)

Screenplay

Pavel Hajný

Shooting Script

Janusz Majewski

Director of Photography

Josef Pávek

Second Unit Photography

Kamil Kadeřábek

Camera Operator

Václav Zajíček, Jan Górski, Jerzy Gajewski

Assistent Production Designer

Ewa Kossowska

Set Designer

Ewa Braun, Karel Kracík, Bolesław Miziołek, Alojzy Przybysz, Pavel Šoltys, Miloš Sršeň

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Assistant Film Editor

Marek Denys, Eva Horázná

Sound Designer

Jerzy Blaszyński, Lubomír Zajíc (česká verze)

Production Manager

Blažej Vráb, Konstanty Lewkowicz, Renée Lavecká (česká verze)

Unit Production Manager

Pawel Rakowski, Ewa Pietruszkova, Rudolf Mos, Waldemar Król, Jan Janda

Unit Production Manager

Hana Štefanová

Cooperation

Z. Augustová (klapka), Ivan Minář (fotograf), Wojciech Jaworski, Dorota Madej, Wanda Niedzielska, Małgorzata Przedpełska

Dialogues of Czech version

Zdeňka Psůtková, K. M. Walló

Direction of Czech version

K. M. Walló

Music

Music Composed by

Jerzy Matuszkiewicz

Music Performed by

Orkiestra Polskiego Radia (Music Conducted by Jerzy Matuszkiewicz)

Songs

Tak bym chciela kochać już

Song Composer Jerzy Matuszkiewicz
Writer of Lyrics Wojciech MłynarskiAngelika Wegener /německý text/Bronisław Zieliński /anglický text/
Singer Hanna Banaszak

Production info

Original Title

Slaná růže

Czech Title

Slaná růže

English Title

The Salty Rose

Co-production Title

Słona róża

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

love story

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Poland

Copyright

1982

Production Year

1982

Production specifications

withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1988

Premiere

premiere 1 January 1983 /unsuitable for youths/

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Drahoslava Makovičky, Drahoslav Makovička (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Zespół Filmowy Kadr (PRF Zespoły Filmowe)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

83 min

Original length in metres

2 465 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech