Soon after the film's release, Stalinistcensorship was implemented in Czechoslovakia. The film was not allowed to have a premiere in Prague. It was only shown in small theatres outside of Prague until it was banned completely.[1]
Distant Journey follows Hana, a Jewish eye doctor who falls in love and marries a Gentile named Toník. Their simple love story becomes a nightmare when the government begins the systematized extermination of the Jews. Hana's family is transported to Theresienstadt, and the romance becomes a struggle for survival.
Radok never shows blood or lets a gun fire in his story, but the historic footage he integrates into the film achieves a sense of terror. Newsreel footage and clips from Leni Riefenstahl'sTriumph of the Will show Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, and other Nazi leaders reading speeches while a pile of dead nude bodies on the grounds of a concentration camp enforce the atmosphere of the Holocaust. While the historic war-time footage is shown, the previous scene of the feature film is shrunk to the lower right hand corner of the screen, a picture-in-picture effect comparing the wider global conflict to the more immediate effects on the story's central characters.
The slow spread of anti-Semitism that led to the deportation and murder of the Jews is played out in the film. For example, in 1941 Jews were no longer allowed to go to the theater in Prague. Dressed in stunning attire, the happy couple are just about to leave for the theater when they receive this foreboding news from Hana's dejected father. In this way, Radok feeds his audience the history of the war through a personal and easily digested narrative.
The film is full of symbolic cinematography. For example, when a minor character, Professor Reiter, commits suicide, strange camera angles show the old man sitting in his apartment, his open window, the cobblestone street far below, and the stopped hands on a clock. When shrill screams echo from the street and the apartment is empty, the audience is to assume the awful truth.
In the Village VoiceJ. Hoberman called it a "masterpiece", comparing Radok to Orson Welles[2] New York Times critic Bosley Crowther described it as "the most brilliant, the most horrifying film on the Nazi's persecution of the Jews that this reviewer has yet seen".[3] The film is applauded for both its expressionist cinematography and historical relevance, being one of the first films to confront the Holocaust, only three years after it occurred.
After being banned in Czechoslovakia for forty years, the movie reemerged after the Velvet Revolution for a 1991 television premiere, and was hailed as a masterpiece by local critics. In 1998 poll of 55 Czech and Slovak film critics and publicists Distant Journey was voted 6th best Czechoslovak movie of all time.
Triviaedit
Footage from Distant Journey appears in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange. Kubrick incorporated the shots of children playing amidst rubble into his film.
Bibliographyedit
Kerner, Aaron (2011). Film and the Holocaust: New Perspectives on Dramas, Documentaries, and Experimental Films. Continuum. ISBN9781441124180.
Camino, Mercedes (2018). Memories of Resistance and the Holocaust on Film. Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN978-1-137-49968-4.
Hames, Peter (2010). Czech and Slovak Cinema. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN978-0748620821.
Škvorecký, Josef (1975). All the Bright Young Men and Women: A Personal History of the Czech Cinema. Toronto: Peter Martin Assoc. ISBN9780887781100.
Sladovníková, Šárka (2018). The Holocaust in Czechoslovak and Czech feature films. Stuttgart, Germany: ibidem-Verlag / ibidem Press. ISBN9783838211961.
Referencesedit
^Cieslar, Jiří. . Central Europe Review. Archived from the original on 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
^Hoberman, J. (21 November 2006). "Czech, Please". Village Voice.
^Crowther, Bosley (10 September 1950). "FOREIGN ENTRIES; The Czech Film 'Distant Journey,' and The Italian 'Difficult Years' Creative Film Hot Potato". New York Times.
distant, journey, czech, daleká, cesta, czech, holocaust, film, directed, alfréd, radok, released, 1949, long, after, world, radok, uses, experimental, cinematography, blending, historic, footage, nazis, with, fictional, love, story, between, jewish, woman, ge. Distant Journey Czech Daleka cesta is a Czech Holocaust film directed by Alfred Radok and released in 1949 not long after World War II Radok uses experimental cinematography blending historic footage of the Nazis with a fictional love story between a Jewish woman and her Gentile husband Distant JourneyTheatrical release posterDirected byAlfred RadokWritten byErik KolarMojmir DrvotaAlfred RadokStarringBlanka Waleska Otomar KrejcaNarrated byVaclav VoskaCinematographyJosef StrechaEdited byJirina LukesovaMusic byJiri SternwaldProductioncompanyCeskoslovensky statni filmRelease dateJune 1949Running time108 minutesCountryCzechoslovakiaLanguageCzech Soon after the film s release Stalinist censorship was implemented in Czechoslovakia The film was not allowed to have a premiere in Prague It was only shown in small theatres outside of Prague until it was banned completely 1 Contents 1 Summary 2 Cast 3 Reception 4 Trivia 5 Bibliography 6 References 7 External linksSummary editDistant Journey follows Hana a Jewish eye doctor who falls in love and marries a Gentile named Tonik Their simple love story becomes a nightmare when the government begins the systematized extermination of the Jews Hana s family is transported to Theresienstadt and the romance becomes a struggle for survival Radok never shows blood or lets a gun fire in his story but the historic footage he integrates into the film achieves a sense of terror Newsreel footage and clips from Leni Riefenstahl s Triumph of the Will show Adolf Hitler Joseph Goebbels and other Nazi leaders reading speeches while a pile of dead nude bodies on the grounds of a concentration camp enforce the atmosphere of the Holocaust While the historic war time footage is shown the previous scene of the feature film is shrunk to the lower right hand corner of the screen a picture in picture effect comparing the wider global conflict to the more immediate effects on the story s central characters The slow spread of anti Semitism that led to the deportation and murder of the Jews is played out in the film For example in 1941 Jews were no longer allowed to go to the theater in Prague Dressed in stunning attire the happy couple are just about to leave for the theater when they receive this foreboding news from Hana s dejected father In this way Radok feeds his audience the history of the war through a personal and easily digested narrative The film is full of symbolic cinematography For example when a minor character Professor Reiter commits suicide strange camera angles show the old man sitting in his apartment his open window the cobblestone street far below and the stopped hands on a clock When shrill screams echo from the street and the apartment is empty the audience is to assume the awful truth Cast editBlanka Waleska as Dr Hana Kaufmannova Otomar Krejca as Dr Antonin Bures Viktor Ocasek as Oskar Kaufmann Zdenka Baldova as Hedvika Kaufmannova Jiri Spirit as Honzik Kaufmann Eduard Kohout as Prof Reiter J O Martin as Rudolf Bures Josef Chvalina as Pepa Bures Zdenek Hodr as Zdenek Klein Hana s old friend Sasa Rasilov as Businessman Moseles Jan S Kolar as Gestapo officer MullerReception editIn the Village Voice J Hoberman called it a masterpiece comparing Radok to Orson Welles 2 New York Times critic Bosley Crowther described it as the most brilliant the most horrifying film on the Nazi s persecution of the Jews that this reviewer has yet seen 3 The film is applauded for both its expressionist cinematography and historical relevance being one of the first films to confront the Holocaust only three years after it occurred After being banned in Czechoslovakia for forty years the movie reemerged after the Velvet Revolution for a 1991 television premiere and was hailed as a masterpiece by local critics In 1998 poll of 55 Czech and Slovak film critics and publicists Distant Journey was voted 6th best Czechoslovak movie of all time Trivia editFootage from Distant Journey appears in Stanley Kubrick s 1971 film A Clockwork Orange Kubrick incorporated the shots of children playing amidst rubble into his film Bibliography editKerner Aaron 2011 Film and the Holocaust New Perspectives on Dramas Documentaries and Experimental Films Continuum ISBN 9781441124180 Camino Mercedes 2018 Memories of Resistance and the Holocaust on Film Palgrave Macmillan UK ISBN 978 1 137 49968 4 Hames Peter 2010 Czech and Slovak Cinema Edinburgh University Press ISBN 978 0748620821 Skvorecky Josef 1975 All the Bright Young Men and Women A Personal History of the Czech Cinema Toronto Peter Martin Assoc ISBN 9780887781100 Sladovnikova Sarka 2018 The Holocaust in Czechoslovak and Czech feature films Stuttgart Germany ibidem Verlag ibidem Press ISBN 9783838211961 References edit Cieslar Jiri Living with the Long Journey Alfred Radok s Daleka cesta Central Europe Review Archived from the original on 2009 02 12 Retrieved 2008 12 14 Hoberman J 21 November 2006 Czech Please Village Voice Crowther Bosley 10 September 1950 FOREIGN ENTRIES The Czech Film Distant Journey and The Italian Difficult Years Creative Film Hot Potato New York Times External links editDistant Journey at IMDb nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Distant Journey amp oldid 1190936175, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
