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32| Sight&Sound| December 2013

FIGHTFIREWITH FIRECzech andSlovakfilmmakershave struggledto capture the reality of normalisationthe repression that followed thePrague

Spring. Nowa Pole, AgnieszkaHolland,has succeeded, in a TV series that beginswith the self-immolationof JanPalachByPeterHames

THEENDOFSPRINGBurningBush follows theimpactofJanPalachsdeath,above onhismotherandbrother (JaroslavaPokornandPetrStach),aboveright,andon lawyer DagmarBureovandherhusband

(TatianaPauhofov andJan

InJanuary1969, a 20-year-oldCzechhistory student, JanPalach, set fireto himself in PraguesWenceslasSquareinprotestattheoccupationofhiscountrybythearmiesof theWarsaw Pact;he subsequentlydiedofhisinjuries.Several othersfollowed hisexample. TheAugust 1968invasionhadinitiallybeenmetwithnationalresistance,butinthefollowingmonthsdespairandlethargybeganto descend on Czechoslovakia.Palachs purpose wasto

rouse the peopleoncemore;he also called forstrike ac-tion andthe abolitionof censorship.

A number of Czech feature films have dealt with1968andtheyearsofrepressionthatfollowed,buttheyhave often been superficiallyconceived, andlackinginauthenticatmosphere. Oneof themost successful, JanHrebejksPelsky(Cosy Dens, 1999), set in the monthsbefore the PragueSpring,has beencriticised on severallevels ongroundsofauthenticity.Sincemostofthefilm-makers whohave attempted to re-create therealities ofthoseyears werechildrenat the time, this ishardlysur-prising.RadimpceksPouta (Walking Too Fast,2010),setinthe 1980s, offers anaccount ofa societyinfiltratedbythestatesecuritymorepersuasiveandchillingthanThe

LivesofOthers(2006).VclavKadrnkasBressonianEightyLetters(Osmdestdopisu,2011)isanotherexample,asemi-autobiographicalaccount againset inthe 80s ofhismothersencounters withbureaucracy in herattemptstojoinherhusbandintheUK,.

Andnow we haveAgnieszka Hollands Burning Bush(Horc ker, 2013),a three-parttelevisionseries made forHBOEurope,undoubtedlytheCzechfilmandtelevisionevent of the year.Hollands career hasbeen unusual tosaytheleast,rangingfromworkwithherfellowPoleAn-drzejWajdaonManofMarble(Czowiekzmarmaru,1976)to collaboration on KieslowskisThree Colourstrilogy,andincluding her ownremak bl Poli hfilmsuchasProvincial Actors(Akt

1979),ALonelyWoman(KobietasamotnaandInDarkness(2011).Eurosuccesses such asEuropa Eurand Olivier Olivier(1992) were followedbyher only UKfilm, a sympatheticadaofTheSecret Garden(1993), a rangin the USA and Canada, and several episodesofThe Wireand TremewhyaCzechfilm?

TheansweristhatshehasCzech and Slovak links. In 2009shemadetheSlovak-Polish-CzechJnok A True Story(Jnok Prawdziw histria), abo17th-century outlaw who is a

Slovak national hero. More to thepoint, shestudied atFAMU, thePrague Film School, which had given birthtotheCzechoslovakNewWaveofthe1960s,makingherdiplomafilmin1970andgraduatingin1971.Inherearlytwenties sheobservedand lived throughthe aftermathofthePragueSpring,andthereconstructionof theatmo-

sphereofthetimesisimpeccable.ThescriptisbyarecentFAMUgraduate,StepnHulik(born 1984), whoconstructedthescreenplay on theba-sisofcareful research.Slovak involvement comesintheformofacompellingperformancebyTatianaPauhofovinthecentralroleofthelawyerDagmarBureov,afu-tureministerofjusticeafterthefallofcommunism,andMartinStrbasstrikingcinematography.

Granted the space of a mini-series,Holland is able todevelopmultiplecharactersandfollowtheirfatesacrosstime,endingwith Palachs second funeral,whenhisre-mains were disinterred andcremated under thesuper-visi f th ecret p li The filmhas been described

oftheCzechoslovakianexperienceatthe

tioneraofthe70sand80s,untry returned to the role of subservientall vestiges of the Prague

reformsandliberalisationwereelim-riod, which was to last forharacterisedby theFrench

uisAragonasaBiafraofthespir-contains representations of

leamongthem,notonlyDagmaralachs mother (Jaroslava

okorn)and hisbrother (Petrtach):it centres on theirslan-

ase against VilmNov, aCommunistMPandmemberofthepartysCentralCommittee,

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The film examinesthe destructiveforces let loose inevery individual

thevirtualimpossibilityofactinginaccordancewith conscienceina societybased on lies

whoalleged that Palachhad actedforWestern interestsandledananti-socialistgroup,andthathisdeathwasac-cidental.

Thefirstepisode observes theimpact of Palachs actandtheinvestigationofthecasebythe(fictional)policeinspectorMajor Jire (IvanTrojan).Towardsthe endof

theepisode Bureov is asked to represent thePalachsin their case against Nov. At first she refuses; but theepisode closeswith her confronting herownimage ina bookshop window. Echoing in the audiences mindis thesecret police agent Major Docekals disingenuousinstructiontoJire: The nation is waitingfor thetruth,sogoandfindit.

In thesecondand third episodes, Bureov servesaslink andguidethroughthe society andpersonalitiesofthetimeasshesearchesforinformationaboutNovandfor interviewees willing to testify to the nature of hisspeech. As a result of her work, her husband loses hisjobasadoctoratthehospitalandisforcedtoworkintheprovinces (anotuncommonpunishment).

WhileBureov iseveryinch a professional, hercom-mitment is fundamentally moral a human responsi-bilityundertakenin thefaceof overwhelming andirre-sistible odds. Butthe Palach affair is only one strandinHolland andHuliksanalysisof a society in crisis. Theyexamine the destructive forces letloose in every indi-vidual thevirtualimpossibilityofactingin accordancewith conscience, howto adapt,how to adjust, whethertoemigrate(asMajorJiredoes),howtocontinueinaso-ciety based on lies, deception, accommodation, andtheomnipresentthreatoffurtherintervention.(AtonestagetherewereevenrumoursthattheSovietUnionintendedtoestablishdirect rule).

The casting is exemplary, with actorswho canestab-lishcharacterandattitudeinaminimumofscreentime.

Almosteverycharacter is riven with doubt,facedwithproblems of decision-making or forced to make deci-sions with which they dont agree. The issues of trustanddoubtsaboutothers,whichpermeatedthe normali-sationyears,are foregrounded. Meanwhile,theregimeslackeys remain defeated and/or cynical. As the Czechcritic Zdena kapovnotes in themagazineFilmadoba,Hollandinvites her actors to actpsychologically, usemereimplications,silences,smallcharactergestures.

Thefirstepisodeofthefilmpresentsuswiththefactof

JanPalachs martyrdom;thesecond, whichbeginsa fewweeks later with theunderstatedself-immolation of thesecond human torch, JanZajic, is concerned withreac-tionsofBureovontheonehand,andoftheauthori-tieson theother. Thesecretpolice arestationed outsidethe houses of both the Palach and Bure families, andPalachsmother is left photographs of her sons body inwhat hasbecomea caseof almost routineintimidation.The final episode is devoted to the trial and perhapstheremarkable thingis that therewas one. Despite theremoval of evidence, the case against Nov is demon-strably proven, but the verdict of the court(handed tothe judge in an envelope) goes against the Palachs. JanPalachs grave, whichhadbecome a shrine, disappearsovernight:Whereismyson?hismothercrieswhenshe

findsanotherheadstoneinplaceofhis.Yetthefilmends20yearslaterinJanuary1989asleafletscommemoratingPalach aredistributedinPrague a weekofdemonstra-tionsinhismemorywereakeypartofthebuild-uptothefallof theconformistregimethe followingNovember.

Alongside the acting, which constantly reachesbeyond overt plot situations to other levels, the filmsvisual atmosphere remains crucial. This is no conven-tional retro presentation, though theclothes,food,andconstantsmoking are deliberate elements. The crum-bling stucco of city and village streets, typical of thetimes, is complementedbyempty roads andnight-timescenesinwhichpolicecarsaretheonlypublicpresence.Thevisualstyleisintelligentlycombinedwithactuality,

bothblack-and-whiteandcolour notablyMilan PeersSilence(Ticho, 1969), recordingPalachs funeral, andthe60s documentaries of the New Wave director EvaldSchorm.ThereareechoesofCzechfilmsofthetime,par-ticularly Karel KachynasTheEar(Ucho, 1969), withitssecretpolicecarswaitinginthestreet,andJaromilJiresadaptation of Milan Kunderas The Joke(ert, 1968), inwhich the charactersvisit a restaurant where most ofthemenuhasbeencancelled.Butitsnotafilmdevotedtoreferencesthisisjusttheportraitofafamiliarreality.Throughout, thecharacters experienceonekind of real-itywhiletelevisionand press present a false andmanip-ulatedone. Theblandgaiety of popularmusic echoesin thebackground an incidentalrealitymergingwith

everydayexperience.Ultimately,BurningBush is a mainstream film buta clever one. Accessible, with a rapidly movingnarra-tive, it successfully explores the psychology of an era,importantly payingtribute to the example of someonewhoactedonbehalfofhiscountryintheonlywaythatseemedopen to him. Though it hassignificant lines ofdialoguemainlyspokenbytheauthoritiesitisimpor-tantforwhatitshowsratherthanwhatitsays.HollandsknowledgeofthetimesinbothPolandandCzechoslova-kiaisputtoexemplaryuseandliftsthegenericelementsofthetelevisionmini-seriestoanewlevel.

i All threepartsofBurningBushwillscreen

attheRiversideStudios,London,duringthe

CzechFilmFestival on 10thNovember.