Summary
During the first half of the 1970s, the ideologically motivated director Karel Steklý made a number of films that have almost come to define the cinematography of the “normalisation” era. The films Hroch (The Hippo, 1973), Za volantem nepřítel (An Enemy Is at the Wheel, 1974) and Tam kde hnízdí čápi (The Place Where Storks Nest, 1975) are typical products of their time, with reality made to cede to political demands. His film Lupič Legenda (Legenda, the Robber, 1972), which is set in 1905, shows how this process even encroached upon interpretations of history. The emerging political consciousness of the Czech labour movement thus finds its origins in the mutiny on the battleship Potěmkin. An old-world anarchist and gentleman-thief (played by Eduard Cupák) co-finances the strikers. A subplot deals with the hero’s private life and his relationship with his illegitimate son. The heavily politicised plot, which hinges upon the relationships between the Social Democrats, Anarchists and Communists, is somewhat confusing today. Legenda, the Robber remains absorbing, however, thanks to its excellent casting.
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