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Věra Chytilová
Defiance and compassion: celebrating the work of a true original and a pioneer of Czech cinema.
A pioneer of women’s cinema, Chytilová thought it natural to use her female perspective and experience, although she didn’t see herself as a feminist. Never one to hesitate, she played on stereotypes associated with women, exploiting the fear of feminine hysterics and famously threatening to jump out of the window in front of state officials when she struggled to get her unorthodox films financed or released.
With this collection of five of her key works, we pay tribute to one of the key directors of the 60s – a filmmaker of consistent moral vision and innovation.
DaisiesDaisies
Comedy 1966 73 minsDirector: Věra Chytilová
Two self-confessed hedonists wreak wanton havoc in Věra Chytilová's visually spectacular neo-dadaist farce.
A Bagful of FleasA Bagful of Fleas
Documentary 1962 43 minsDirector: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's 'fictionalised documentary' uses non-actors to portray girls' lives in the cotton mills of Náchod.
Something DifferentSomething Different
Drama 1963 81 minsDirector: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's first feature is an important work of women's cinema, which contrasts the parallel stories of a gymnast (filmed as documentary) and a housewife (told as fiction).
Fruit of ParadiseFruit of Paradise
Drama 1969 99 minsDirector: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's symbolic retelling of the Adam and Eve story is a ravishing tapestry of ideas, textures, and visual tropes.
TrapsTraps
Comedy 1998 116 minsDirector: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's dark, post-communist comedy. After a veterinary surgeon is sexually assaulted by two men, she uses her particular expertise in castraton to exact her revenge…