Summary
The life of “the teacher of the nation”, the philosopher, pedagogue and theologist Jan Amos Comenius (referred to in Czech as Jan Amos Komenský), was the preoccupation of a biography by Miloš V. Kratochvíl (Život Jana Amose [The Life of Jan Amos, 1975]). In 1983, it was adapted into this historical film under the direction of Otakar Vávra. The novelist and the director linked up to devise the screenplay for the motion picture on Comenius, one of the earliest champions of universal education. Throughout his extensive career (Vávra’s career lasted more than eight decades – he passed away at the age of 100 in late 2011), Vávra repeatedly returned to the genre of historical films linked to real-life figures of Czech history. Coming, as it does, towards the end of the director’s filmography, Putování Jana Amose, with its pilgrimage, sits somewhat organically with his other biographical features, such as Příběh lásky a cti (A Story of Love and Honour, 1978), Oldřich a Božena (Oldřich and Božena, 1984) and Veronika (1985). The film’s eponymous hero, rendered in iconic fashion by Ladislav Chudík, is living an unsettled life, which, after the defeat of the Czech forces at White Mountain, changes into permanent flight from the pursuers of those espousing other than Catholic beliefs. The vision of Comenius as a scholar and peacemaker is balanced with scenes from the hero’s family life.
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