Were We Really Like This?

After years of forced silence, director Antonín Máša returned to feature films with two projects – Skřivánčí ticho (The Silence of the Larks, 1989) and Byli jsme to my?(Were We Really Like This?, 1990). He made the first of these motion pictures just prior to the 1989 Velvet Revolution, but the latter film enjoys the benefit of a post-1989 distance as it reflects upon the decay evident in society during the era of “normalisation”. The heroes of both films are artists, and their characters are to a large extent autobiographical. Psychological drama Byli jsme to my? is based on Máša’s theatrical play, staged in 1981 by acclaimed filmmaker Evald Schorm. The protagonist of its introspective narrative is an ill and exhausted theatre director (the sublime Leoš Suchařípa). He confronts the professional and moral lethargy of his acting ensemble. This final film by Máša draws in viewers thanks to the urgency of his testimony and the excellent casting.