A number of Hong Kong International Film Festival screenings
have sold out but tickets are available for some still
The Ear (Czechoslovakia, 1970)
- Karel Kachyna, director and co-scriptwriter (with two others)
- Starring: Jirina Bohdalova, Radoslav Brzobohaty
- Part of the Hong Kong International Film Festival's Restored Classics program
Made in 1970, two years after the Prague Spring was ended violently when the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia, this film by Karel Kachyna was only was released in Czech cinemas only after the Velvet Revolution that saw the Czechs peacefully depose their Communist government (whose regime is depicted in this politically critical work). Upon viewing The Ear, it's easy to see why -- and it's actually quite surprising to learn that its helmer was not thrown in jail but "only" fired from his teaching position at the Film and Television School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague!
The Ear begins with its protagonists returning home from an evening out at a party for the country's political elite and visiting senior Soviet military officers. Ludvik (Radoslave Brzobohaty) is a deputy minister who finds out at the party that his boss has been deposed (and probably imprisoned). His alcoholic wife, Anna, is oblivious for the most part to political shenanigans even while happy to be favored with such as a smile and being referred to by her first name by the nation's leader -- as was the case at one point in the evening.
It is Ludvik and Anna's 10th wedding anniversary; something which Anna is very aware of, and also aware that Ludvik has forgotten. Although they have a young son that they both love, it is pretty clear from their treatment of each other that there's now very little love lost between them -- and may have indeed the case for years; with Anna implying at one point that Ludvik married her for the sizable dowry that her bar owner father paid out to his son-in-law.
The couple spent the greater part of the movie bickering -- in ways which really don't show either of them in the best of light. As they do so, it becomes clear that Ludvik fears far more Anna's loose lips divulging information than her disfavor or wrath. Specifically, he worries that their residence has been bugged and prying ears are listening -- and will pounce on a secret that's indavertently revealed or anything that paints him in a bad political light, or that of the country's leader.
Such is life in a totalitarian regime that even those in power are liable to be "bugged" and perfectly able to be disposed as well as deposed at the whims of people more senior than them. It is a great breeding ground for paranoia. Also, you know what the proverbial "they" say: Just because you are paranoid it doesn't mean that they're not out to get you!
This state of affairs is depicted very well indeed in The Ear. What I appreciated less was the characterization of the film's two protagonists. By this, I mean that both Ludvik and Anna don't come across as nice, sympathetic people. So even while one feels disquiet and horror over the situation they are in, I have to admit to not having rooted as much for them as I perhaps should have! And let's face it: watching people snap at and be nasty to each other for much of the film is something I don't find all that savory or entertaining! Hence my lower rating for this work than otherwise would be the case.
My rating for this film: 7.5
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