Eden and After

Eden and After 1970

6.10

A group of French students are drawn into the psychological and sexual games of a mysterious man called Duchemin. Once they sample his "fear powder" the students experience a series of hallucinations.

1970

Jánošík

Jánošík 1963

7.70

This film is one of the most popular pictures of Slovak cinema and relates the story about the legendary folk hero and brigand Juro Jánošík [1688-1713] and the social situation in Slovakia of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The first part talks about Jánošík's childhood, studies and return to his native village. In the second part Jánošík leaves for the hills, where he organizes his band of brigands and starts an anti-feudal resistance. The film concludes with Jánošík's execution.

1963

The Boxer and Death

The Boxer and Death 1963

6.50

Concentration camp commander Kraft finds out that prisoner Kominek is a former professional boxer. Overnight, the prisoner is made Kraft's exercise partner and unwillingly rises to a privileged position at the camp. His anger over the death of his friend and co-prisoner leads to open revolt. The film brings a new view of human degradation during fascism by a tragic story of one man whose only chance for survival is to accept the rules of an unequal game.

1963

Miraculous Virgin

Miraculous Virgin 1967

5.00

A film adaptation of the novelette of the same title written by Dominik Tatarka depicts the life of a young generation of artists that was formed in Slovakia during the war. Anabella, a young and beautiful girl meets a group of artists. She awakens their erotic desires but also pure feelings of love; she becomes the object of their secret fantasies as well as their artistic inspiration. And it seems that the boundaries between reality and fantasy suddenly cease to exist.

1967

Birds, Orphans and Fools

Birds, Orphans and Fools 1969

7.10

In the aftermath of war, two men and a woman begin acting more like children than adults, leading to tragedy.

1969

Dialogue 20-40-60

Dialogue 20-40-60 1968

5.30

"Using the same, three times repeating dialogue – dramatic conversation between man and woman – Jerzy Skolimowski from Poland, Slovak director Peter Solan and Czech director Zbynìk Brynych shot three different stories. The result was an extraordinary experiment in the world cinema, which we can call an insight in the relationships of men and women of different age groups, an analysis of love and marriage of those who are at the beginning, in the middle or going towards the end of their life."

1968

The Last Witch

The Last Witch 1957

7.50

This dramatic story is situated in the town of Trnava of the 18th century. Painter Peter paints an altar-piece of the Martyrdom of St. Juliet and his model is a young girl. This is much disliked by the clergy who unjustly accuse the girl of witchcraft. She is saved from being burnt at a stake by the students of the Trnava University.

1957

The Man Who Lies

The Man Who Lies 1968

6.70

A man may or may not have betrayed a resistance fighter during World War II. He has supposedly been shot down by the Nazis and wanders into town. Mourning the death of an unseen comrade, he is taken in by the family of the dead rebel. He engages in a superfluous affair and witnesses the lesbian relationship between the man's sister and a female servant. When passions subside, the family has doubts about the reliability of the man's story.

1968

Field Lilies

Field Lilies 1973

8.30

Two repatriated soldiers search for stability and love when they return home after the First World War.

1973

Salt & Gold

Salt & Gold 1983

6.30

A fairy-tale about the power of love. The old king Pravoslav feels it is time to entrust the rule over his kingdom to one of his three daughters - the one that loves him the most. The youngest, Maruška, fails her father's expectations about proving how deep her love him is. He misunderstands her and she is made to leave the castle. She faces many dangers on the way to her loved one, the Salt Prince.

1983

Judgement

Judgement 1970

4.70

The film is a historic parable about the topicality of revolution. 1514. The peasants' uprising is over, Dózsa has been arrested. Werbőczy tries to get the imprisoned peasant leader deny the revolution and offers him the lives of his people in exchange.

1970

Interrupted Song

Interrupted Song 1960

3.20

Young couple separated by World War 2, dream of being reunited years later.

1960

A Pact with the Devil

A Pact with the Devil 1967

6.30

A comedy about five students who are un-justly suspected of trying to lose their virginity before their graduation. The five girls first try to defend themselves, but when they find out that nobody believes them - neither the school principal nor even their own parents - they decide to accomplish what they have been falsely accused of. And although their clumsy attempts are mostly comic, at one point they almost cause a big tragedy.

1967

The Hour of Blue Elephants

The Hour of Blue Elephants 1971

6.00

Two days before Christmas. Zuzanka and Tomás, friends from a kindergarten wander off during a walk. They admire toys and decoration in shop-windows. Zuzanka shall receive a sledge as a Christmas present and Tomás even a desired little brother. At a shooting gallery Tomás aims at a target on the trunk of a blue elephant which can call in Christmas. The impatient Zuzanka pushes to her friend and he shoots directly to the elephant's red eye. Things which the owner of the shooting gallery warned about happened: the sun popped on the sky, the snow melted and all Christmas shopping has stopped. Both pushful children decide to get a new eye for the elephant so that everything can be set right.

1971

The Barnabás Kos Case

The Barnabás Kos Case 1965

6.00

In this bitingly satirical film Peter Slovan, a continuous source of trouble for the film functionaries of the socialist Slovakia, tackles an evergreen topic – the corruptive effects of power. Barnabáš Kos, a triangle player at a symphonic orchestra, is suddenly promoted to serve as the head of the said institution, even though both he and his superiors deem him completely unfit for the task. Encouraged in equal parts by this unexpected recognition and the servile praise of his colleagues, Kos’s modesty starts to gradually vanish. The erstwhile bashful and aloof percussionist quickly becomes aware of the advantages of his new office, and begins to realise his increasingly ludicrous artistic ambitions. Ultimately, the submissive marionette turns into a source of public humiliation, and his astonishing career finds an abrupt end. Orchestra serves here as a microcosm that grotesquely reflects the absurd and tragicomic mechanisms of the paranoid apparatus of power.

1965

The Sheriff Behind Bars

The Sheriff Behind Bars 1966

4.30

A dramatic story from the setting of a youth de tention center. Youngster Jakub, out of delusory solidarity, gets convicted of theft and goes to prison in place ofthe "sheriff" of his gang. He naively hopes that the sheriff will appreciate his gesture and leaves the stolen goods in a safe hideaway to later divide them fairly among the gang members. This conviction gives Jakub the strength to endure the unbearable conditions in the center. But reality is often much harsher than naive ideals and hollow relations in the gang.

1966

Earthly Honor

Earthly Honor 1958

6.00

Historical satire from the first half of the 19th century, which captures the decay and decline of the landed estate. The impoverished peasants still seem to adhere to the old principles of peasant honor and glory, but the elections will show how easy it is to buy knightly qualities.

1958

Every Week Seven Days

Every Week Seven Days 1964

1

The film could have been a lyrical evocation of the ČSSR's first generation: the youngsters born during the war, who grew up in a state violently at pains to find and define itself, and were now ready to break away from the nation-builder ethics of their elders – but Grečner turned it into an anxiety-riddled existentialist vision of a whole globe in fear.

1964