Vlčí bouda
Wolf’s Hole
Věra Chytilová
A group of eleven young people have been picked to take part in a special ski course, but their excitement soon disappears. Not only is their isolated chalet cut off from the outside world by an avalanche, it also turns out that something is seriously wrong with the three ski instructors. Under the supervision of »Daddy«, Dingo and Babeta organise cruel drills, cause tension and turn the youngsters against each other. Food is rationed, weaknesses are exposed, secrets strategically divulged and individual children arbitrarily ostracised or favoured. They perfidiously insist there is one person too many and that this person must be sacrificed by the others. The youths are compelled to make a life and death decision, only then can they return home. The group’s sociogram therefore shifts constantly. The camera’s nerve-wracking dynamics and an unsettling soundtrack heighten the sense of dread. The horror film surprisingly evolves into a sci-fi story. The ski instructors turn out to be aliens who are testing humans for an imminent invasion. With her bizarre humour, Chytilová dissects the mechanisms of oppression and manipulation in totalitarian systems.
Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová (1929–2014) was a key figure of the Czechoslovak New Wave. She was the first woman to study directing at the Prague Film and Television School of the Academy of Performing Arts. She graduated in 1962 and made her debut film A Bagful of Fleas the same year. In 1966, her second feature film Daisies played an important role in the revival of Czech cinema, challenging conventions in filmmaking. The Communist Party publicly criticised the revolutionary satire about double standards. Shortly after the Warsaw Pact troops invaded Prague on 21 August 1968, it became impossible for Chytilová to make films and she was forced to work under her husband’s name, primarily on commercials. Despite being banned from practicing her profession, Fruit of Paradise premiered at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival and in Czechoslovakia. The ban was lifted in 1976, and she went on to shoot more than 20 works for film and television.
Films by Věra Chytilová (selection)
Hezké chvilky bez záruky 2006 | Vyhnáni z ráje 2001 | Kalamita (Calamity) 1980 | Ovoce stromu rajskych jíme (Fruit of Paradise) 1969 | Sedmikrásky (Daisies) 1966 | O něčem jiném (Something Different) 1963 | Pytel blech (A Bagful of Fleas) 1962 | Strop (Ceiling) 1961
