Archive of films Intimate Lighting / Intimní osvětlení

Czechoslovakia
1965, 75 min

Section: Tribute to Ivan Passer
Year: 2008

This acidic comedy unfolds over a single weekend at a country cottage, where two former classmates – musicians – take stock of their lives. The narrative is founded on miniature portrayals of the characters, the environment, relationships, moods and details, all honed in a striking visual style. Featuring a combination of actors and non-professionals, this is one of the cult films of the Czech New Wave.


Synopsis

On the subject of Intimate Lighting, Ivan Passer wrote that he wasn’t interested in the “story”, but in the “condition”; in order to express it, the filmmaker needs “above all, humour”, also “sufficient knowledge of his characters so that he can divulge the things about them which surprise us the most”, their “precise placement in the given social situation” and “a little bit of imagination”. These are the elements used to weave together Passer’s acidic comedy about the life of ordinary anti-heroes, shot in a mini-realist style as a random slice of everyday life. The story unfolds over a single weekend at a country cottage, where two former classmates – musicians – take stock of their lives. The narrative is founded on a loose plot line with emphasis on miniature portrayals of the characters, the environment, relationships, moods and minutiae. Varied fragments appear in unexpected contexts, functioning as a source of comic and lyrical tangents which reverse and shift meanings: the serious becomes embarrassing or comical, the comic becomes grotesque and ironic, and the banal turns poetic. The film was made on location with the participation of non-professional actors, thus lending authenticity to the story. The visual style involves an organic approach in creating the unusual impressionistic surroundings, an effect achieved through special lighting and careful image composition. The result is a lightly frothy cocktail of humour and melancholy, authentic detail and imagination, all wrapped up in a sophisticated minimalist form. One of the cult films of the New Wave which prompted a critic for the French magazine Arts to write: “He who doesn’t like Intimate Lighting is no friend of mine.”

Contacts

Národní filmový archiv
Malešická 12, 130 00, Praha 3
Czech Republic
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.nfa.cz

Bontonfilm, a.s.
Na Poříčí 1047/26, 110 00, Praha 1
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 257 415 111
Fax: +420 257 415 113
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.bontonfilm.cz

About the film

Black & white, 35 mm

Section: Tribute to Ivan Passer
   
Director: Ivan Passer
Screenplay: Jaroslav Papoušek, Václav Šašek, Ivan Passer
Dir. of Photography: Josef Střecha, Miroslav Ondříček
Music: Antonín Dvořák, Vojtěch Matyáš Jírovec, lidové písně / folk songs
Editor: Jiřina Lukešová
Producer: Jiří Šebor, Vladimír Bor
Production: FS Barrandov
Cast: Karel Blažek, Zdeněk Bezušek, Věra Křesadlová, Jan Vostrčil, Vlastimila Vlková, Jaroslava Štědrá, Dagmar Ředinová, Miroslav Cvrk, Karel Uhlík
Contact: Národní filmový archiv, Bontonfilm, a.s.

Guests

Vladimír Opěla

Film Institution Rep.

Blažena Urgošíková

Film Institution Rep.


Aleš Danielis

Distributor

Ivan Passer

Screenwriter / Film Director


Marek Jeníček

Distributor, Producer

Michal Kroupa

Distributor, Distributor


YouTube

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