Elective Affinities + Moravian Hellas

Elective Affinities
(Spřízněni volbou)
Czechoslovakia 1968. Director: Karel Vachek
With: Alexander Dubček, Antonín Novotný, Ludvik Svoboda, Pavel Kohout, Marta Kubisová

Made in the dying days of the Prague Spring, Karel Vachek’s Elective Affinities — the punning title references Goethe — presents an unusual, ironic, and irreverent behind-the-scenes account of Czechoslovakia’s turbulent 1968 presidential election, a last gasp of "independence" for the country prior to the Warsaw Pact invasion that August. Vachek and his crew were armed with the latest in mobile, lightweight gear; their unconventional approach, frequently, was to begin shooting at the point where other news crews switched their cameras off. The result is an all-access, often comic, cinéma vérité record of the running grease paint, unguarded moments, and accidental nudity that only occurs backstage. "The cinematography by Jozef Ort-Šnep is intimate, intrusive, ironic; there’s nary a talking head in the picture. Rather, images of nervous hands and half-shut eyes, of bottles in a meeting hall and bottoms firmly planted in their chairs, immovable, accompany the conversation. The talk is fascinating, an exposé of process and passion, optimism and its opposite, the shadow of doubt. Among the politicians in the film are Antonín Novotný, Alexander Dubček, and General Ludvik Svoboda, whose election as president marks the end of the film and so much else" (Pacific Film Archive). It would be more than 20 years before Vachek made another film. B&W, 35mm, in Slovak and Czech with English subtitles. 85 mins.

Moravian Hellas
(Moravskà Hellas)
Czechoslovakia 1964. Director: Karel Vachek 
With: Josef Lebánek, Karel Saudek, Jan Saudek, Alena Karpilová

Karel Vachek made his entry into Czech cinema history with a bitingly sarcastic film essay, a mix of documentary and staged scenes, depicting the absurd, kitschy "folkloric traditions" encouraged by the Communist Party. One fellow director described it as a "time-bomb." The authorities banned it. B&W, 35mm, in Czech with English subtitles. 33 mins.