The life story of communist journalist Jožka Jabůrková (1896–1942) was adapted for the big screen in 1985 by screenwriter Jaromíra Kolárová and director Juraj Herz. Her internment at the Ravensbrück concentration camp provides the framework for the moving biopic: the dying woman recalls her childhood, affected by her rebellion against her narrow-minded mother. Under the influence of her husband, the young woman then becomes increasingly aware of the prevalent social injustice and finds work with a communist newspaper for women, Rozsévačka (Seeder). Jabůrková is interned at Ravensbrück after refusing to collaborate with the occupying Germans; even in the concentration camp she continues to help other inmates… The film was made all the more impressive by the brilliant camerawork of Viktor Růžička as well as the score by composer Michael Kocáb. The director of the emotionally charged story cast Jana Riháková in the lead role while the part of the heroine’s mother went to Jana Brejchová, whose sister also got a smaller role in the film.
It is 1942 and the fourty-six year old journalist Joka Jabůrková is dying in the Ravensbrück concentration camp, while snatches of memories of her childhood and youth as well as of her camp experiences return to her mind. Her bigoted and hysterical mother rebuked the young Joka for her unmarried motherhood, threatening her with hell and forcing her to pray endlessly. Joka's co-prisoner plucks a flower in the backyard and Joka saves her from a guard's beating. Joka finds out at her neighbours', the Grundil family, that people can live in laughter and peace no matter how poor they are. When she gets to the ironworks with Mrs Grundilová, she can see how hard the labourers' work is. An exhausted prisoner drops a kettle and spills soup. The women are punished by being made to standing all night on the parade ground. Joka grows up into a self-confident personality despite of her low descent and the mother's hard way upbringing. She knocks down the hand of a obtrusive teacher during a religion lesson at school. The mother gets angry that she hit a priest. Her classmate Helena does not have such courage and follows the teacher to his study. The catechist is expelled from the school only when the girl dies after an amateur abortion. Joka already knows that one must oppose injustice. Secret experiments on the female prisoners are carried out in the concentration camp. After school, Joka works as an educator, then an office clerk in the ironworks and, later, as a nurse in an infirmary. In Ostrava after the First World War, she witnesses hunger strikes and the aggressive soldiers' action against them. In the concentration camp, a woman doctor kills the victims of the experiments with an injection. It is after the war and Joka, influenced by her husband Jabůrek, works in the labour physical education. She is mainly engaged with children, having none of her own. She becomes an editor of a women's communist newspaper, entitled Disseminator, and, as a communist parliamentary deputy, also advocates for the interests of the unemployed. She gets into a controversy with a Sudeten-German and anti-Czech historian and politician, doctor Pfitzner (executed as war criminal in 1945). Joka marries for the second time and is finally happy with Josef Paleček. She is, however, arrested by the Gestapo after the establishment of the Protectorate and Pfitzner offers her a chance of rescue in exchange for her collaboration. She refuses and ends up in the concentration camp, selflessly and fearlessly helping her co-prisoners. She falls severely sick and, refusing an injection, is punished by isolation in a bunker where she dies.
The scenes from the Majdanek concentration camp were filmed in collaboration with the Przedsiebiorstwo Realizacji Filmów – Zespól Filmowy Iluzjon and the Wytwornia Filmóv Fabularnych in Łódź. The film was shown under the auspices of the Czech Women's Union.
Jožka Jabůrková rozená Řehová
švadlena Anežka Řehová, Jožčina matka
politik PhDr. Josef Pfitzner
Jožka Jabůrková rozená Řehová jako dítě
Maryčka
vrchní dozorkyně/milostpaní
Zdena/Helena
jednooká blokařka
Grundilka
vězeňkyně-klaunka Anča
vězeňkyně Božka
vězeňkyně-stará žena
vězeňkyně
vězeňkyně Mirka
vězeňkyně Lauferka
katecheta/nacistický lékař
učitel českého jazyka
funkcionář Stanislav Jabůrek, Jožčin první manžel
dělník a funkcionář Josef Paleček, Jožčin druhý manžel
jednonohý voják
manžel Grundilky
brýlatá dívenka Lída
Lídin otčím
Voice by Daniela Bartáková
Lídina matka
studentka Gita
dělnice
dělnice
vězeňkyně Ilze
studentka Anuška
dozorkyně
dozorkyně
vězeňkyně
dcera Maryčky
lékařka
velitel koncentračního tábora
zajatec Giovanni Marini
dělnice s plackami
milostpán
stará žena
redaktorka Rozsevačky
německý radní
bába
rozčílený radní
Jitka
herec
herečka
učitelka německého jazyka
služka
Libuška
Libuščina matka/hysterická žena
Marie
jeptiška
dvanáctiletý kluk
mistr v hutích
starý dělník
starosta
Monika, dcera milostpaní
zraněný voják
tlustý radní
klavírista
odulý muž
muž v redakci
dělník
dělník
dělník
dělník
dělník
starší žena
žena vybraná na pokusy
žena vybraná na pokusy
žena vybraná na pokusy
dozorkyně v bunkru
muž na galerii
žena na galerii
muž na galerii
malý mužík
důstojník/gestapák
předseda
žena před konzumem
žena před konzumem
dozorkyně a vězeňkyně
dozorkyně a vězeňkyně
dozorkyně a vězeňkyně
dozorkyně a vězeňkyně
dozorkyně a vězeňkyně
dozorkyně a vězeňkyně
dozorkyně a vězeňkyně
dozorkyně a vězeňkyně
studentka
studentka
studentka
studentka
studentka
studentka
studentka
studentka
studentka
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
žena
Dobroslav Zborník, René Slauka
Jiří Rulík, Ivo Černý, Ivan Břešťák, Miloš Osvald
Alena Gablová, Jiří Kuba, Jaroslav Klenot, Hana Ludvíková, Jana Svašková, Johana Stuchlíková, Jaroslav Šanda, Jaroslav Vlk
Lydie Lukešová, Vlasta Synkulová, Viktor Schwarcz, Olga Zelenská
Rudolf Jelínek, Luděk Blažek, Miloš Zajdl (spojka)
Alice Ronovská (klapka), Jiří Kučera (fotograf), Przedsiębiorstwo Realizacji Filmów Zespoły Filmowe – Zespoły Iluzjon, Wytwórnia filmów fabularnych Łódż
FISYO (Music Conducted by Mario Klemens), Simion Radu /Panova flétna/
Song Composer lidová píseň
Singer Hana Ulrychová
Song Composer Alexandr Vasiljevič Alexandrov
Writer of Lyrics Vasilij I. Lebeděv-Kumač
Singer ženský sbor
Song Composer František Škroup
Writer of Lyrics Josef Kajetán Tyl
Singer sbor
Zastihla mě noc
Zastihla mě noc
Caught by Night
Zastihla ma noc
Zastihla mě noc
Ještě máme oblohu
film
featuretheatrical distribution
historical, biography
Czechoslovakia
1985
1984
literary Screenplay approved 7 March 1984
technical Screenplay approved 29 June 1984
start of filming 15 August 1984
end of filming 29 November 1984
the first film copy approved 28 February 1985
projection approval 7 May 1985
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1991
premiere 1 May 1986 /unsuitable for youths/
5. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina, Miloslav Vydra (vedoucí 5. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny), II. tvorivo-výrobná skupina Petra Jaroša (SFT Bratislava), Peter Jaroš (vedoucí II. tvorivo-výrobné skupiny SFT Bratislava)
feature film
129 min
3 699 meters
16mm, 35mm
1:1,37
colour
sound
mono
Czech
Czech, German, Polish
Czech
Czech
Festival: 25. mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary
1986
Karlovy Vary / Czechoslovakia
Festival: 37. filmový festival pracujících – léto ´86
1986
75 měst / Czechoslovakia
Juraj Herz
Event: Státní ceny Klementa Gottwalda
1986
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Viktor Růžička
Festival: 24. festival českých a slovenských filmů Mariánské Lázně
1986
Mariánské Lázně / Czechoslovakia
Event: Státní ceny Klementa Gottwalda
1986
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Jaromíra Kolárová
Festival: 25. mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary
1986
Karlovy Vary / Czechoslovakia
Jana Dolanská
Event: Státní ceny Klementa Gottwalda
1986
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Juraj Herz
Event: Ceny Svazu českých dramatických umělců za rok 1985
1985
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Jana Dolanská
Event: Vyzývací soutěž Československého filmu a Českého literárního fondu na původní filmovou povídku
1982
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Jaromíra Kolárová