Kočár do Vídně
Directed by:
Karel KachyňaCinematography:
Josef IllíkComposer:
Jan NovákCast:
Iva Janžurová, Jaromír Hanzlík, Luděk Munzar, Ladislav Jandoš, Zdeněk Jarolímek, Ivo Niederle, Vladimír Ptáček, Jiří Žák, Klaus-Peter Thiele, Ulrich TheinPlots(1)
In the final days of World War Two, a young Czech widow is abducted by two deserting German soldiers and forced to ferry them to the Austrian border. Unbeknown to them, she is plotting a brutal revenge for the recent killing of her husband by Wehrmacht forces. Banned even before its release (and remained unseen for over twenty years), Karel Kachyňa’s powerful and often harrowing film takes a humanist approach to war. Controversially, it rejected traditional notions of ‘evil Germans’ and ‘good Czechs’ and instead explores notions of guilt and vengeance, and how war degrades everyone in such violent times. (Second Run)
(more)Reviews (3)
Chamber-written and filmed drama of three people at the very end of the war, which looks at German soldiers and Czech resistance from a slightly different perspective than was common until then. The film did not find understanding from the bosses of Czech cinematography, not only because of the person of the screenwriter, when Procházka shortly thereafter fell out of favor due to the Soviet occupation and his participation during the Prague Spring, but also because of the theme itself, which humanizes German soldiers and doesn't portray the partisans in a flattering light. Excellent performances, with Iva Janžurová delivering a real tour de force and it is good for the viewer to see her in a different way than being pigeonholed into her usual comedic roles. Overall impression: 95%. A film with economical dialogues, but with an extremely strong atmosphere that is simply unforgettable.
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Coach to Vienna is a good film, but it has two "buts" that make it impossible to give it more than these four stars. For one thing, it's the god-knows-why unfilmed (and important) opening passage with the hanging of the husband, which one austere caption can't really replace. The second reason is one of the final scenes with Iva Janžurová's completely incomprehensible behavior as Krista, who suddenly turns around and... No, I just didn't see any reason why she did "it". But otherwise, Coach to Vienna is a joy to behold. The black-and-white picture suits the film and so does the forest setting, and the beautiful music and especially the sensational Jaromír Hanzlík also do a lot. And the end... Three and a bit.
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A misty forest beyond whose elusive edge the war ends. And with that, a situation arises for the actors where meeting practically anyone is a death sentence. While Coach to Vienna suffers from declamatory, unbelievable finales and its share of unnecessary overacting, the excellent cinematography for its time, the wonderfully depicted environment of the dark forest, and the unique setting from it make for a pretty functional nightmare in the end.
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