To the Knowledge of Your Beloved

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1988

Production year

1987—1988

Premiere

1 February 1989

Runtime

90 min

Category

film

Genre

melodrama

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Oznamuje se láskám vašim

Czech title

Oznamuje se láskám vašim

English title

To the Knowledge of Your Beloved

Summary

The human feelings which can arise between two young people of different backgrounds, in spite of all logic and sense for self-preservation, inspired writer Karel Zídek to pen the novel Oznamuje se láskám vašim (To the Knowledge of Your Beloved). Noted director Karel Kachyňa then adapted this work into a screenplay, before filming the romantic drama in 1988. Set in the autumn of 1944, young Czech sailor Karel Svorník serves as the modern-day Romeo in this story. Juliet, meanwhile, comes by way of the enchanting Ulrika from Dresden, a member of the Hitler Youth. Unlike the Shakespearean patriarch Capulet, Ulrika’s father is the commander of a Nazi concentration camp. Given the impending end of the war, the star-crossed couple opts for marriage. Alas, their love, borne of dark times, can only end in tragedy in the subsequent era of peace. Lukáš Vaculík and Markéta Hrubešová take the lead roles in this stylish romantic drama.

Synopsis

It is the autumn of 1944. Two friends – Karel Svorník called Kája and Bohouš Kotera – work on an Elbe tugboat, berthed near Dresden. Time goes easily and carelessly; most of their attention is paid to girls and women. They write a journal about their stay on the boat and they also build a collection of suspenders. One day, they get a chance to earn lots of money smuggling tobacco, and the two young men seize the opportunity. Kája meets a young and pretty Hitlerjugend master and arranges a date with her. After the date, he invites her over to the boat. Ulrika, as is the girl's name, indeed arrives to his surprise. Kája, however, gets rid of her after a night of love and records her details in the journal. But Ulrika comes round again in the evening and tries to explain that she is not a Nazi. Then she visits Kája regularly and the two soon fall in love with each other. Kája attends the wedding of Ulrika's friend as a guest and while there, he tells her the words by which it is announced in Czech churches that a couple is going to get married: "To the knowledge of your beloved..." Kája, however, learns from the old ferryman Würdisch that Ulrika's father is the head of a concentration camp and her fiancé is captain Krause. This makes Kája break up with Ulrika. But he cannot forget about the girl and decides to take action – he asks for her hand in marriage. Ulrika's father who knows that the end of the Third Reich is close, agrees to the wedding, but only if it takes place after the war. The two lovers can now correspond. Bohouš delivers tobacco to Prague. He dies when he jumps out of a train when trying to escape from the customs officers. Kája spends one more evening with Ulrika before his departure for the Christmas holidays. But he falls into some water on the way to the train station and gets home with severe pneumonia. As soon as he partially recovers, he finds out that his parents had kept Ulrika's letters secret from him, and sets off to Dresden. But he does not find the girl again; most probably, she died in a blitz. Her parents' house is in ruins. The desperate Kája inscribes on the damaged tugboat: "To the knowledge of your beloved, I am here again and I am waiting.”

Film online

Cast

Lukáš Vaculík

lodník Karel Svorník

Markéta Hrubešová

Ulrika von Polchow

Antonín Procházka

Bohouš Kotera, Karlův kolega

Zdeněk Martínek

starý převozník Würdisch

Miroslav Moravec

Svorník, Karlův otec

Bohumila Dolejšová

Svorníková, Karlova matka

Karel Šebesta

komisař gestapa

Ladislav Lakomý

plukovník von Polchow, otec Ulriky

Jiřina Jelenská

domovnice Siebertová

Anna Kreuzmannová

babička Ulriky

Jiří Holý

inspektor Khol

Jan Teplý

inspektor zvaný Mecenáš

David Vejražka

asistent komisaře

Václav Vydra

kapitán Krause, Ulričin snoubenec

Zdeněk Blažek

lékař na gestapu

Šárka Štembergová

starší žena

Otomar Krejča ml.

písař na gestapu Hans

Jiří Kosek

Rudi

Jiří Patočka

starý lodník

Peter Jahoda

lodník

Otakar Dadák

sedlák, uprchlík ze Sedmihradska

Regina Zahradníková

nevěsta Gerda

Alex Jandouš

příslušník schupo /bezpečnostní policie/

Jan Víšek

příslušník schupo /bezpečnostní policie/

Miroslav Grác

udavač

Eva Trunečková

biletářka

Milan Charvát

průvodčí v rychlíku

Igor Smržík

policista

Vít Pešina

chlapík

Silvie Tikovská

dívka

J. Kutková

hostinská

J. Nedvědová

ošetřovatelka

Karel Smrž

harmonikář

Jiří Langmajer

Ulričin bratr Hubert na fotografii

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Zeno Dostál

Based on

Karel Zídek (Oznamuje se láskám vašim – kniha)

Shooting Script

Karel Kachyňa

Director of Photography

Richard Valenta

Second Unit Photography

Karel Hejsek

Camera Operator

Václav Zajíček

Production Designer

Karel Lier

Assistent Production Designer

Libuše Jahodová

Set Designer

Lubomír Kafka, Vladimír Kvěch, Karel Šebo, Josef Večerek, Miloslav Dvořák

Costume Designer

Irena Greifová

Film Editor

Jiří Brožek

Assistant Film Editor

Růžena Hejsková, Eva Horázná

Sound Designer

Pavel Jelínek

Special Effects

Trikový ateliér FSB

Production Manager

Viktor Schwarcz

Unit Production Manager

Olga Zelenská, Antonín Pražský

Unit Production Manager

Martina Petrů, Gabriela Kerekešová

Consultant

Jiří Rubánko

Cooperation

Klaudie Hepnerová (klapka), Miloš Schmiedberger (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Milan Svoboda

Selected Music

Johann Strauss ml. (Netopýr /Die Fledermaus/)

Music Performed by

Kvartet Milana Svobody (Music Conducted by Milan Svoboda), FISYO, František Kop /sólo na saxofon/

Songs

La Paloma

Song Composer Sebastian de Yradier
Writer of Lyrics Helmut Käutner

Já v srdci lásku mám

Writer of Lyrics Pavel Kopta
Singer Markéta Hrubešová

Alte Kameraden

Song Composer Carl Teike

Netopýr /Die Fledermaus/

Song Composer Johann Strauss ml.
Writer of Lyrics Karl HaffnerRichard Genée
Singer ženský hlasmužský hlas

Production info

Original Title

Oznamuje se láskám vašim

Czech Title

Oznamuje se láskám vašim

English Title

To the Knowledge of Your Beloved

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

melodrama

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1988

Production Year

1987—1988

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 17 June 1987
technical Screenplay approved 3 December 1987
start of filming 12 December 1987
end of filming 5 April 1988
the first film copy approved 4 November 1988
projection approval 22 November 1988
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1992

Premiere

premiere 1 February 1989 /unsuitable for youths/

Creative Group

1. tvůrčí skupina, Jiří Blažek (vedoucí 1. tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

90 min

Original length in metres

2 579 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech, German

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Festival: 3. filmový festival mladých Velké Poříčí u Hronova

1989
Velké Poříčí u Hronova / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 3. filmový festival mladých Velké Poříčí u Hronova

1989
Velké Poříčí u Hronova / Czechoslovakia
Markéta Hrubešová