Marketa Lazarova

Marketa Lazarova is a medieval Czech epic with an avant garde twist. It was released in 1967 and was voted the best Czech film of all time in a national poll by critics.

The complex plotting follows various warring clans in the wintery Czech countryside. The film begins with a bevvy of noblemen ambushed by a trio of highwaymen, and this seemingly minor action sets off a series of dangerous events. As the film reflects the novels avant garde origins, the film is somewhat confusing, frequently descending into dream sequences and flitting from clan to clan, character to character without prior warning. The jist of the story is that the highwaymen have captured a Lord's son, and the Lord and the Czech king set out on pursuit of the vagabonds. The other main plot thread is the highwaymen stealing a young virgin from a rival clan. The conflict here is in the virgin's love-hate relationship with her captor, a rough but charismatic warrior.

The picture has some religious background; the transference of Paganism to Christianity. The contrast between the saintly convent and the wildness of the desolate, brutal outside world is shown in Marketa's (the young virgin) dalliances with the convent. Her father, a man conflicted between his life as a clansman and his desire to do well for his daughter, pushes her towards the convent. While the countryside is shot in sometimes muddied dirges, the convent is overexposed with white light filling the screen.

The film is really nicely shot using the same template as other Czech new wave and avant garde films; handheld camera, often unerring POV shots. The countryside is strikingly beautiful and the images resonate in your mind. As said before there are dreamlike sequences, most notably in the romantic sequences with the Lord's son and a clans maid. The unusual birdseye shots are reminiscent of 'Valerie and her week of wonders', another Czech film of the period. The music is absolutely haunting as well. A mixture of subtle tribal rhythms and ghostly choral music, it elevates the stark beauty of the landscapes to a higher level.

I think what makes the film interesting also provides one of it's biggest flaws. In most historical dramas, the films are shot in a linear, conventional fashion, careful not to take away from the story. Marketa Lazarova is very odd in that it combines an avant garde aesthetic and narrative with a historical drama. Although it's always visually interesting and much more daring, the story often seems muddled and hard to follow. This template may work in a film like 'Valerie..' but is more challenging in an historical epic.

7/10