Cinema
Behold Homolka
Ecce homo Homolka
Jaroslav Papoušek · 1970
Synopsis
On a summer Sunday, the Homolkas, a Prague family of three generations, set off on an excursion to a wood near the town: the grandfather and grandmother settle in the grass, their son Ludva plays in the stream with his twins, his wife, the stout Heduš, dances among the trees. Nothing of what they had come to find, neither peace nor comfort, awaits them, and the day wears itself out in quarrels, injustices and grudges.
Context
Written and directed by Jaroslav Papoušek, and photographed by Jozef Ort-Šnep, who came from documentary, the film was completed after the emigration of Miloš Forman and Ivan Passer, the two other members of the trio. The grandfather is played by Josef Šebánek, a former mechanic and taxi driver, the only true non-professional in the cast, and the twins by Petr and Matěj Forman. Released on 8 March 1970, it was followed by two other films about the same family, in 1970 and 1972.
Who it is for
About eighty minutes, in black and white; the comedy lies in the dialogue, many of whose lines have passed into everyday speech.
Prizes and reception
One of the essential works of the Czechoslovak New Wave; with its two sequels, the best-known film of its author.