FILM: Pearls of the Deep / “Perlicky na dne”

This film is part of the movie series- “Death, Secrets, and Lies” with an introduction by Dr. Hana Píchová

Brief Summary:

A manifesto of sorts for the Czech New Wave, this five-part anthology shows off the breadth of expression and the versatility of the movement’s directors. Based on stories by the legendary writer Bohumil Hrabal, the shorts range from the surreally chilling to the caustically observant to the casually romantic, but all have a cutting, wily view of the world. —The Criterion Collection

Five directors team up for this drama that strings the stories together in one 105-minute Czech feature. “Mr. Baltazar’s Death” is directed by Jiri Menzel. Jan Nemec directs “The Imposters” in which two elderly men nearing death keep themselves alive by telling each other lies about their careers. In Elward Schorm’s “The House Of Happiness,” an insurance agent flees from the home of an eccentric painter when he believes his mother is a witch. In “The Snack Bar,” directed by Vera Chvtilova, a young woman’s body is found after she has committed suicide. The final feature, “Romance” directed by Jaromi Jires, involves a young man having an affair with a carefree gypsy woman before she returns to her traveling tribe. The feature marks the emergence of five young directors who show that Czechoslovakia has made leaps and bound in the quality and technical aspects of filmmaking as of 1965. — Dan Pavlides, Rovi