Prague Journal

Wednesday, July 13, 2005.

Rick was able to schedule a Czech class with Irena early in the day, to free up our evening for dinner with Henry. Sasha is out of town, but Henry had suggested dinner at one of their favorite places, “Little Buddha” near the Strahov Monastery behind Prague Castle. The atmosphere was interesting – not so much because of its Tibetan/Buddhist décor, but because it was so un-Czech. Rick tried to speak Czech to the waitress, but she seemed more comfortable in English. Nonetheless, the food was good and not very expensive, and our conversation with Henry was delightful as usual.
Perhaps a more interesting thing about this evening is that we met Henry at his flat, just by the arch near the Castle, which is in the same building as Jana and Edvard Otrata. Edvard used to head the Czech Statistical Office and is now in the senate. Jana was one of the first people I met here seven years ago, at her International Women’s Club, which met at her house. So I recognized her apartment immediately as we walked up the stairs to Henry and Sasha’s place. Henry boldly knocked on her door and we received a pleasant “how nice to see you again” greeting from her.
Henry drove us home after dinner, so we were home by 10pm. We decided that that gave us time to watch the last DVD that Harriet and Marty had lent us, since we want to return them when we see them on Friday. This movie, another Menzel/Hrabal collaboration, is called Postřižiny (Cutting it Short, 1980). The story is based on one that Hrabal published in the seventies, and it goes back to the time of the writer’s childhood (Hrabal was born in 1914) spent at the brewery in Nymburk, a small town close to Prague. The story is set at the beginning of the new century when the enchantment of technology started with the advent of motorcycles, cars, electricity, short skirts and short hair for women. This film is lit up by the magic of the old “golden age” of the optimistic early years of the First Czechoslovak Republic. The breaking up of the Old World with the new century is represented by the wonderful long and bright hair of Maryška that she cuts in accordance with the new tempo of civilization. According to a review of the movie by Ivana Košuličová [http://www.ce-review.org/01/9/kinoeye9_kosulicova.html], the characters in the film are based on Hrabal’s parents. Whereas Hrabal uses the literal figure of his mother as the narrator of the text, the director, Menzel, transforms the storytelling into the third person form. Menzel also does not show the motifs of cruelty in his film: for example, Maryška (Hrabel’s mother) cutting the tail of the dog because of the new age in which everything seems to be getting shorter, from travel times to skirt lengths. But Menzel does show scenes that are very close to events in the actual text. One example of this is the scene following the slaughter of a pig: Maryška chases the butcher and the doctor Gruntorád (Rudolf Hrušínský) and they both try to spread bloody sausage meat on each other’s face. This is a return to that now familiar device, the ceremonial aspects of everyday existence, with the killing of the pig becoming a kind of pagan ritual. The same ceremonial tones are showed between Maryška and her husband Francin (Hrabal’s father). Their ritual of seeking for presents is not just an erotic game, but it also turns an ordinary moment into a unique event. Menzel also relies heavily on the use of slapstick. A typical illustration of it is the figure of a laborer in a brewery played by Rudolf Hrušínský Jr, who is always getting hurt as a result of accidents caused by Uncle Pepin, Francin’s brother who has—much to everyone’s dismay—come to stay with them for 2 weeks. Rick especially liked Maryška, the beautiful (and seductive) characterization of every man’s fantasy, who loves beer and steaks for breakfast and takes every opportunity for risk and adventure.

posted by JWinn @ 10:25 PM