Available from 26 March – 23 April
Directed by Štefan Uher • 1965 • Czechoslovakia
Štefan Uher’s claustrophobic tale of faith and fascism is an uncut gem of the Czechoslovak New Wave. Set in the era of Nazi occupation and collaboration, the film follows a Polish deserter (Alexandr Březina) who finds refuge in a small-town Slovak monastery. His virtuosic talents as an organist provoke a crisis of conscience in the local choirmaster (František Bubík), laying bare the web of resentments and twisted loyalties that hold sway over this corner of wartime Europe. Shot through with the music of Bach, artfully adapted by composer Ján Zimmer, and filmed with a suitably Gothic sense of religious fervour, The Organ demonstrates the often forgotten contribution of Slovak directors like Uher to the New Wave.
THE ORGAN
Directed by Štefan Uher
Written by Alfonz Bednár
Cinematography by Stanislav Szomolány
Music by Ján Zimmer
Starring: František Bubík, Alexandr Březina, Kamil Marek
Winner of a Special Prize at the Locarno Film Festival 1965
Up Next in Klassiki Picks with Peter Strickland: 26 March – 23 April
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Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
Directed by Sergei Parajanov • 1965 • USSR/Ukraine
The first mature masterpiece from one of world cinema’s true poets, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors bursts with imagination. Grounded in the folk traditions, aesthetics, and dialect of the Hutsul people of western Ukraine, Parajanov’s ta...
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Two Balls of Wool
Directed by Hermína Týrlová • 1962 • Czechoslovakia
The first of Hermína Týrlová’s “wool pictures”, in which she experimented with the creative potential of humble yarn, this stop motion short captures the director’s reimagination of the domestic as a world of imagination. A box of knitting supp...
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The Knot in the Handkerchief
Directed by Hermína Týrlová • 1958 • Czechoslovakia
One of Hermína Týrlová’s most beloved shorts, this quietly innovative combination of stop motion and live action melds together the worlds of childhood play and fantasy. When a young boy forgets to mend a dripping tap, his handkerchief takes on...
