Tam na horách

The Czechs seemed to see little reason for getting American director Sidney M. Goldin for the film, but on the other hand, they again completely "understood" the casting of the lead role with Juliette Romona, who was supposedly Goldin's Viennese protégé, although she was a Londoner. In this seemingly unremarkable film, we find an absolutely crucial response to the European breakthrough of the most successful Czech filmmakers between the two world wars. In it, we follow the story of poor Maruška, whose life was not a bed of roses. She was seduced as a simple village girl, and as a single mother she was disgraced, but as fate would have it, she lived to see her redemption and revenge on her seducer, and she had an interesting career as a singer. The seducer was Karel Lamač, a thoroughly rotten smuggler, while her sister was played in a somewhat less dramatic light by Anny Ondra in an unusual mask. Anna in costume is one thing, Anna in her sloppy clothes as Viktorka is another thing, and if she still has the opportunity to dramatically ride out on a horse and provide assistance during a birth, it opened up another level of her acting to me, which I had no idea about. Karel Schleichert played it safe and the first change of environment from a simple countryside to a luxurious interior equipped according to the latest trends was a real joy. (17/08/2012)