Ring a Ring o’Roses

Films about filmmaking are a popular way of entertaining viewers. However, the screenwriter and director Věra Plívová-Šimková took a novel approach in 1977: while as usual the protagonist of the amusing narrative Jak se točí Rozmarýny (Ring a Ring o’Roses) is a director, a children’s films writer nicknamed Bonžůrka, the filmmaking world is seen through the eyes of children. The process of shooting the kids’ movie The Knee begins with efforts to cast the children’s roles. Bonžůrka and her assistants attempt to find them – just as Plívová-Šimková herself usually does – at auditions of promising non-actors. The female lead requires not only acting ability but also the courage to have her head shaved. Bonžůrka’s story is that of a 12-year-old girl who after a serious viral disease has lost all of her hair – and is recovering at her grandparents’ place in the summer… The trying movie role is finally given to the courageous Rosemary Pavlíčková, whose whole world comes crashing down during filming: her parents get divorced and her childhood love – Kája – starts going out with the long-haired Jana. A realistic, matter-of-fact adult world therefore casts a shadow over carefree childish frolics and friskiness. However, in the end – as usual with Plívová-Šimková – playfulness and joie de vivre triumph over serious subjects and motifs… Iva Janžurová took the lead in the film, which to a marked degree was autobiographical for the director. Dagmar Veškrnová and Jiří Lábus played her assistants. The cast of the crew included Josef Bláha (head of production), Jan Kraus (production assistant), Jiří Krampol (cameraman) and Zuzana Bydžovská (clapper girl). Rosemary was played by then 12-year-old Pavlína Mourková, who like her character had no screen experience. Her career has chiefly been in television but she had a small part in Kruh (Ring) (2001), directed by Plívová-Šimková and Drahomíra Králová.