Tip for Sunday night - Petr Zelenka's Lecture
In the Lecture, a celebrity selects feature or short films that influenced him or her. This year, delivered by Petr Zelenka. His choice includes three films by a nearly forgotten Czech filmmaker Jan Moravec.
A Man Who Rose In Price
Fresh film fans had or still have the chance to see A Man Who Rose in Price and two short films, Adventures with a Naked Boy and Modern House.The festival will also feature Petr Zelenka’s first films – Visací zámek 1982-2007, Mňága Happy End and Buttoners.
Tip for Sunday night
- Petr Zelenka's Buttoners, 8.30 pm Ponec Theatre
- Jan Moravec's A Man Who Rose in Price, 9 pm Cinema Svetozor
Petr Zelenka about Jan Moravec
Films of the director Jan Moravec represent a unique lesson in absurdity, dark humor, social and political satire, and endless playfulness. It seems as if he – one of the few great artists of the Czech New Wave – did not take himself seriously enough. The main theme of his only feature film “A Man Who Rose In Price” is similar to that of Roald Dahl’s story “Skin”. Dahl is an acknowledged master of surprising endings, and many readers know the story of the precious tattoo on a certain man’s back. I believe that Moravec explores the same theme with more skill. Using humor as his tool, he presents a strange world, where people destroy banknotes as their job and where a man/picture dwells robbed of any freedom in the totalitarian environment of the National Gallery. The feeling that a major mistake happened somewhere on the way and that we are headed to hell, is strong even today. “T he Man Who Rose In Price” is a dark film, almost apocalyptic, and toward the end dissolves in nothingness or in the depths of claustrophobia. Yet, there are so many witty ideas in it and never ending wish to make fun – together with the viewer – of the absurd world around us that I will probably never get tired of it. The same is true about Moravec’s short TV film “Modern House” (1971) and Mensik’s immortal sentence “Can I use your phone?” I have the feeling that Jan Moravec embodies the typical Czech combination of laziness and hard work, and that he was able to enjoy both. His approach to life was that it must make one laugh, or it’s worthless. His own life could become good film material, though he himself would find this a somewhat stupid idea. I believe this is the first mini-presentation of his work after 1989 – and I would like to use this opportunity to greet him. So, many greetings and I hope that he is still amused by life and he is laughing at the absurdities of the contemporary world. I warmly recommend these screenings to the viewers. The fan club of Jan Moravec does not have too many members but I am sure that his time will come. Petr Zelenka, 2010
