Summary
Vladimír Sís provided the motif and script for this 1975 commemorative film about fictional magician Vili Brod from Karlovy Vary. The film presents the recollections of another illusionist Richard, who is performing at a contemporary international magicians’ festival, and transports the film’s audience to the times when Vili was entertaining the West Bohemian spa city. Vili’s story spans the period from 1926 to 1938 and presents the life of an artist in a difficult relationship with his ambitious mistress, Vilma, as well as the changing times. His decline from a once popular and confident illusionist to a pitiful clown goes hand in hand with historical events as the slow-paced life in the spa is disturbed by the arrival of Nazi occupation forces... The mosaic-like narrative is interspersed with clips of documentary and feature films relating to Karlovy Vary. The part of Vili was given to popular actor Jiří Hrzán while Miroslav Horníček provided the film’s ironic and detached commentary on the period’s events.
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