Summary
It was a matter of course that any criticism of the political upheavals and show trials of the 1950s was banned from the silver screen during the 1970s and 1980s. However, the period was explored by screenwriter Milan Ležák and director Jan Schmidt soon after the regime was toppled. Their film Vracenky (Lenin, Lord and Mother, 1990) recreated the time's atmosphere partly by using a black and white format. It tells the story of a 10-year-old boy whose divorced mother is a convinced communist. Little Honzík Domnosil faces issues both at school and at home where his mother continuously battles with her lover František and his “reactionary” ideas. However, when the political upheavals begin in earnest the boy’s mother cannot but oppose them and the ardent communist finds herself imprisoned… Director Jan Schmidt gradually builds an ever darker atmosphere which overshadows the life of the young protagonist. His life is disturbed by violently changing times in which private shops suddenly disappear from the streets, Stalin’s huge monument is erected above central Prague on the Letná plain and the idea of a peaceful home life evaporates into a mere dream that cannot be made true by either Lenin or God.
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