Martyrs of Love 1967 ( 5.2)

This three-part ballad, which often uses music to stand in for dialogue, remains the most perfect embodiment of Nemec’s vision of a film world independent of reality. Mounting a defense of timid, inhibited, clumsy, and unsuccessful individuals, the three protagonists are a complete antithesis of the industrious heroes of socialist aesthetics. Martyrs of Love cemented Nemec’s reputation as the kind of unrestrained nonconformist the Communist establishment considered the most dangerous to their ideology.

The Blue Star Hotel 1941 ( 8.1)

It all begins when Zuzanka, the new young owner, arrives at the dilapidated Blue Star Hotel. Determined to put the declining inheritance back on its feet, she starts chasing three young men, including the composer Jirka, who, dressed in a waiter's tailcoat, is to work off his debt to the new owner. Like his two friends, Jirka succumbs to the charms of his new boss and, with some confidence, hopes that he is the one who has the best chance of becoming her chosen one. At that moment, however, a guest arrives, intent on carrying out the family tradition and throwing an engagement party at the Blue Star Hotel, regardless of his condition. This, however, is not to the liking of his wilful fiancée. Fortunately, there is the sympathetic Zuzanka, who charms the unusual guest so much that he resolutely breaks off his engagement to the rich girl and prefers to marry the cute hotelier.

Okénko do nebe 1940 ( 5)