Jiří Mádl’s self-assured Waves hits theaters, and KVIFF.TV remembers August 1968 with Occupation and Reconstruction of Occupation

It is no exaggeration to say that the 58th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival was literally blown away by Waves, which looks at the hope-filled days of the Prague Spring and at dramatic moments of the occupation as seen through the eyes of several courageous employees of Czechoslovak Radio’s international news office. The film’s premiere in Vary was followed by a nine-minute ovation. Jiří Mádl’s eagerly anticipated film immediately won over festival audiences and took home the Právo Audience Award.

“Jiří Mádl presented me and my colleagues with one of the most pleasant moments and surprises of the spring season. He is not just an outstanding actor but also a talented director who already pleasantly surprised us with To See the Sea and On the Roof [shown at KVIFF 54 – editors’ note]. With Waves, he moves into the absolute top league of European filmmaking. It’s fascinating how he managed to combine the personal story line with events in society. We are excited that the film’s world premiere is taking place in Karlovy Vary,” KVIFF’s artistic director Karel Och proclaimed at the film’s screening.

After its world premiere at the festival on 1 July, Waves had its cinematic pre-premiere on 14 August at 96 cinemas. On the second weekend in August, it could be viewed at a record 269 cinemas.

Jiří Mádl’s self-assured directing in undeniable. It never pauses as it drives the thrilling, action-packed plot toward its grand finale, helped along by excellent cinematography, editing, and period set design – all of it further underscored by excellent performances, even in the smallest roles. The film’s protagonists were inspired by actual journalists from Czechoslovak Radio: department head Milan Weiner (Stanislav Majer), foreign correspondents Jan Petránek (Petr Lněnička), Luboš Dobrovský (Martin Hofman), and Jiří Dienstbier (Vojtěch Kotek), and reporter Věra Šťovíčková (Táňa Pauhofová).

The main protagonist, technician Tomáš Havlík (Vojtěch Vodochodský), is a composite character based on several real people. He is the only character to “stumble” on a personal and political level – when he agrees to collaborate with the secret police. At the film’s end, however, he makes up for it with a great and courageous act.

“One scene especially gets to me. It really happened to a man named Rostislav Běhal, who was in charge of technical issues at Czechoslovak Radio. That evening, when the troops were pouring in, he was called in to the Central Communications Administration, where he was handed a piece of paper with false information about why the troops were coming. It was absolutely clear to him that, if it was broadcast, all of history would remember this event as ‘friendly aid.’ That this information would be taken up by the foreign media and the invasion would really become a foreign aid mission. But it was an aggressive assault, an occupation, and it remained so thanks to this ‘little’ person. I found that amazing. The moment late at night when a person is holding a piece of paper in his hands that will decide what the history of Czechoslovakia will look like, how it will be perceived. It struck me as a powerful moment, and it’s from here that I developed the screenplay. Everything else came afterwards,” explains Mádl.

Jiří Mádl first came across the film’s subject – the role of Czechoslovak Radio and its employees during those fateful August days – in 2009. He began to look for, research, and gather information in 2012. The film includes archival footage, but it is not clearly identified or separated from the acted scenes. Instead, these two layers blend together into one indivisible whole.

“My greatest wish is for the film to arouse emotions. For people to stop asking about facts or looking for parallels. Instead, I want them to still be thinking about it when they leave the theater. For it to remain with them. For them to come home and tell their wives. And to still remember it in the morning, give it one more thought, and for it to remain within them. That’s what I would like.”

Waves is now in Czech cinemas. And with a subscription to KVIFF.TV’s online videotheque, you can see two more films about the events of August 1968: the dark comedy Occupation and the documentary Reconstruction of Occupation.

Photographs: Dawson Films