Czech Modernism flourished in the time between the world wars, spurred on by a growing exposure to world cinema, by the freedom of the Jazz Age, and by a homegrown avant-garde (the Devetsil movement) that reveled in the promise of the... [more]
Czech Modernism flourished in the time between the world wars, spurred on by a growing exposure to world cinema, by the freedom of the Jazz Age, and by a homegrown avant-garde (the Devetsil movement) that reveled in the promise of the moving image. The cinema that emerged is like no other, a dizzying cut-and-paste compilation of outside influences and Czech artistry with a delightful sense of experimentation. Geographically situated between Germany and the Soviet Union, the Czechs blended the dark moods of the German Expressionists with the disorientingly quick editing styles of the Soviet avant-garde, then added Hollywood glamour and Surrealist dream imagery. (Often, all this could be found in one film!) Their narratives ran from social realism and agitprop to cautionary tales of excess and strange Surrealist whatsits. [show less]