imminent death experienced in a disorienting, constantly roaming present of grotesque, hallucinatory detail. very beautiful tracking shots and subjective editing/sound design that form this strange historical loop viewed through a wandering mind.
Two Jewish boys escape from a train transporting them from one concentration camp to another. Beyond themes of war and anti-Nazism, the film concerns itself with man's struggle to preserve human dignity.
Diamonds of the Night is showing in 1 cinema in London - next screening Tuesday 20 October at 16:00 at The Garden Cinema.
Next screenings: Tuesday 20 October.
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imminent death experienced in a disorienting, constantly roaming present of grotesque, hallucinatory detail. very beautiful tracking shots and subjective editing/sound design that form this strange historical loop viewed through a wandering mind.
Holocaust features abound still nowadays. So what would it make Démanty Noci to shine above most of them? Its sheer honesty. Jan Nemec explores a side of war catastrophe that no other movie has shown: the inner thoughts of youth amidst harrowing circumstances. Modern society labels this as surrealism. It is not: it is a journey through disturbed minds.We say that thoughts and fantasies may distract us from reality. However, in such harsh and awful circumstances, it is the thoughts and fantasies that took these youngsters to either an idealized existence or to their past, better lives. Hence, reality is the distraction from a better life. I really hope none of us ever understand this.99/100
Very special entry in the Czechoslovak New Wave. Visceral and energetic. Gorgeous cinematography by Jaroslav Kucera (Daisies). Very interesting cutting that requires the viewer to fill in blanks and conclude for herself what is and isn't reality. Scans are the same for both Second Run and Criterion.“The image was digitized from the original negative on Agfa and Kodak film stock in 4K. Missing parts were replaced from a duplicate positive. The source of the sound was the sound negative. The goal of digital restoration was to make the film available in a form similar to what audiences would have seen at the time it was first released, in 1964,” - said Tereza Frodlová from the Czech National Film Archive. I watched the Second Run Blu-ray but I eventually want to check out the extras from Criterion. Criterion extras:• Interview from 2009 with director Jan Němec• A Loaf of Bread, Němec’s 1960 student thesis film, based on a short story by Arnošt Lustig• Arnošt Lustig Through the Eyes of Jan Němec, a short documentary from 1993• New interview with film programmer Irena Kovarova• New video essay on the film’s stylistic influences by scholar James Quandt• An essay by film critic Michael AtkinsonSecond Run extras:• A Loaf of Bread (Sousto) - Jan Nemec’s 1960 debut short film based on the story by Arnošt Lustig.• New filmed interview with Eva Lustigová, daughter of author Arnošt Lustig.• Audio commentary by film historian Michael Brooke.• An appreciation of the film by Peter Hames.• Trailer (2018).• 20-page booklet featuring Michael Brooke’s essay on the film.
Two Jewish boys escape from a deportation train and navigate a terrifying forest chase while struggling to retain their humanity.
It was directed by Jan Němec in 1964, standing as a landmark debut of the Czechoslovak New Wave.
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