Cinema
Wolves' Lairs
Vlčie diery
Paľo Bielik · 1948
Synopsis
In 1944, in a mountain village, the widow Svrčinová lives with her four sons. Matúš has fled forced labour in Germany and joined the partisans, like his brothers Jano and Štefan; Ondrej, the eldest, comes back embittered and disabled from the Eastern Front and opposes them, because the village often pays with reprisals for the partisans' attacks. Ondrej and Matúš both love the same young girl, Anča, which strains the bonds between the brothers still further.
Context
The first feature film by its director and the first Slovak fiction film, it was written by Leopold Lahola, a veteran of the uprising, with Bielik himself, drawing on their experience and under the influence of Rome, Open City. It was shot in makeshift studios set up in the radio building in Bratislava, without the help of Czech filmmakers, and with the assistance of the partisans' union. Released in December 1948, it was criticised for not showing the struggle as a class struggle nor the role of the communists, and it was withdrawn from distribution in 1950.
Who it is for
Two hours in black and white, in several languages; a great popular and epic war film.
Prizes and reception
A foundational fresco of Slovak cinema about the uprising, withdrawn from cinemas two years after its release.
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