Private Gale

Writer Vladimír Páral first came to the attention of filmmakers in 1967 when director Hynek Bočan adapted his book Soukromá vichřice (Private Gale) into this feature-film comedy. Bočan’s previous film – feature debut Nikdo se nebude smát (Nobody Gets the Last Laugh, 1965) – was also inspired by a literary work, namely a short story by Milan Kundera. The novel Soukromá vichřice (Private Storm) was published in 1966 (its expanded subtitle reads: Laboratorní zpráva ze života hmyzu, or A Laboratory Report on the Life of Insects). Similarly to other stories from Páral´s “Black Pentalogy” (Veletrh splněných přání, or Fair of Fulfilled Wishes; Katapult, or Catapult; Milenci a vrazi, or Lovers & Murderers; Profesionální žena, or Professional Woman), the work is critical of archetypal heroic stereotypes, paradoxically merely trying to escape everyday banality and boredom. The protagonist of this story is chemical factory employee Áda Vinš, who tries to escape from his marriage to Joža via a relationship with Bohunka – a girlfriend of his subordinate Standa. Joska – who loans his cottage to the lovers – in turn comforts the lonely Joža… The games of canasta, by which the protagonists bide their time when visiting each other, serve as a symbol representing the characters’ wasted lives… The screenplay, written by the author of the original novel, along with experienced screenwriter Věra Kalábová and director Bočan, employs Páral’s archetypal partnership pattern, which resonates in the relationships and conduct of the characters. This unpitying probe into the misery of communist Czechoslovakia in the 60s gains a timeless importance due to the way in which it captures the setting and the characters. Hynek Bočan, who “destroyed” his promising career a year later by filming the depressing Pasťák (The Borstal, 1968/1990), cast several top actors of the day. Áda is portrayed by Josef Somr, Standa by Pavel Landovský and Joža by Míla Myslíková. Debuting Daniela Kovářová plays the part of Bohunka. Páral appears as a man in a pub wearing glasses. Jiří Menzel, Jiřina Bohdalová and Václav Neckář play themselves as customers in a Chinese restaurant.