The Ear
(Ucho)

Storyline

The protagonists of this story, which is set against the background of the repression of 1950s communist Czechoslovakia, are married couple Ludvík (Radoslav Brzobohatý) and Anna (Jiřina Bohdalová). Although the couple have got used to being constantly spied on by the secret police, they are still surprised when they find an “ear” (ucho) recording their conversations. Ludvík, who is a deputy minister, and his wife go into full panic mode after returning late from a government reception to their villa. They make the deduction that Ludvík is in danger of being arrested due to a critical report he was involved in producing. Ludvík expects to be arrested and attempts to destroy any evidence of what he has done. During a sleepless night, the couple quarrel and blame each other for all the transgressions, concessions and compromises each has made. Daybreak reveals them tired and sober and the terrible realisation that nothing has come to an end: Ludvík is appointed the new minister, to take up the post of his former boss.

About the film/director

Karel Kachyňa (1924-2004)
Director and scriptwriter Karel Kachyňa was amongst the first generation to graduate from Prague’s FAMU film school. He made friends with director Vojtěch Jasný during his studies and they filmed documentaries together. In the 1950s, Kachyňa mainly focused on adventures and psychological films. He achieved his greatest success in the subsequent decade when he teamed up with writer Jan Procházka. Their films won awards at home and abroad. They worked together on, e.g., Kočár do Vídně (A Carriage Going to Vienna), Ať žije republika (Long Live the Republic!), Noc nevěsty (The Nun’s Night) and in 1969 the psychological drama Ucho (The Ear), but this film was censored and banned from public screening for ideological reasons.This film was not released until 1990. Following Procházka’s death, Kachyňa filmed a few dozen more works for television and cinema, a number of which were based on scripts by Jan Procházka.

Credits

Director:

Karel Kachyna

Script:

Jan Prochazka, Karel Kachyna

Camera:

Josef Illík

Editor:

Miroslav Hájek

Sound:

not specified

Music:

Svatopluk Havelka

Cast:

Radoslav Brzobohatý, Jiřina Bohdalová, Jiří Císler, Jaroslav Moučka, František Němec, Bořivoj Navrátil, Galina Kopaněva, Bronislav Poloczek, Jan Teplý, Gustav Opočenský, Ivan Paluch

Producer:

not specified

Contact:

Jana Lohrová

E-Mail:

jana.lohrova@nfa.cz

• Czechoslovakia
• OmeU (Czech)
• 1969
• 94 minutes