Smugglers of Death

In the 1950s, Karel Kachyňa built his career on “manly” themes revolving around border guards or soldiers. Apart from his undeniable professional skill as a director, he also had a good sense of the psychology of his characters. All of this applies to this drama set in the hilly Šumava (Bohemian Forest) border region in 1948. Despite its sharply tendentious propagandistic tone, Král Šumavy (Smugglers of Death) takes on a balladic nature derived from the dark beauty of the local scenery. The main character – a mysterious smuggler who takes illegal refugees across the border to Germany through dangerous marshes – is endowed with almost mythical qualities. Appearing in the main roles among the heroic defenders of the socialist fatherland are Radovan Lukavský and Jiří Vala. The part of the unhappy Marie is given to Jiřina Švorcová, who particularly in the 1950s tended to play ardent, one-dimensional, politically engaged characters.