Called the “Bruegel of Slovak film” by Václav Macek, brilliant New Wave director Havetta – FAMU professor Karel Kachyňa considered him his most talented student – made only two rambunctious features before dying at the age of 37. Inspired by French Impressionism, Slovak folk art, the commedia dell’arte and silent cinema, Havetta’s feature debut is a riotous bacchanale made against the grim backdrop of the summer of 1968 – the Warsaw Pact invasion occurred during filming. Pierre (Slavoj Urban), a wanderer from France, brings new life to a Carpathian village, sparking episodes of manic exuberance and cinematic invention, with one of Liška’s most euphoric scores rollicking along throughout.
2K DCP courtesy of the Slovak Film Institute.