Hoezo in KINO

The second feature in our Really Long Films series is also part of our Czechoslovak New Wave retrospective and an unmissable medieval epic presented in 35mm. Marketa Lazarová tells the story of a Pagan community coming to terms with the not so subtle introduction of Christianity when warring factions clash in the unforgiving countryside of 13th century Central Europe The story of kidnapping and vengeance is but a set-up for an intricate web of alliances unfolding in an unconventional narrative structure, much as in the novel this film is based on. Marketa shares visual kinship with Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev (1966) and the meandering structure of Hard to Be a God (2013) but above all it plunges the viewer in an utterly convincing bygone era, painstakingly brought to life by director Frantisek Vlacíl. Vlacíl kept the cast costumed and in the forested countryside for two years(!) to ensure authenticity. Marketa was voted the best Czechoslovak film of all time by filmmakers and critics alike, so don’t miss out on the unique chance to experience this masterpiece on 35mm. Print provided by the National Film Archive in Prague. Czech language with English subtitles.