In Karlovy Vary Film Festival competition entry “We Have Never Been Modern,” Czech director Matej Chlupacek takes on both the dangers of Utopian bubbles and the power of unbending faith in traditional gender concepts.
The story, set in a Slovak company town built by a visionary industrialist, takes place on the eve of World War II, as a murder mystery threatens to upset the idealized community. The factory director’s wife Helena, played by Eliska Krenkova, is an aspiring doctor who is soon to give birth. But her rosy future is suddenly darkened by the discovery of the body of a newborn intersex baby in the factory’s courtyard.
All these elements might seem like a heavy burden for a young indie filmmaker who eschewed film school and whose last effort at making a feature was a decade ago, “Touchless” – made when he was a 17-year-old debut writer-director.
But Chlupacek...
The story, set in a Slovak company town built by a visionary industrialist, takes place on the eve of World War II, as a murder mystery threatens to upset the idealized community. The factory director’s wife Helena, played by Eliska Krenkova, is an aspiring doctor who is soon to give birth. But her rosy future is suddenly darkened by the discovery of the body of a newborn intersex baby in the factory’s courtyard.
All these elements might seem like a heavy burden for a young indie filmmaker who eschewed film school and whose last effort at making a feature was a decade ago, “Touchless” – made when he was a 17-year-old debut writer-director.
But Chlupacek...
- 7/9/2023
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Czech director Matěj Chlupáček may not even be 30 yet, but when his period drama We Have Never Been Modern (Úsvit) debuted in the main competition of the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival a few days ago, buzz was ringing through the fest halls that it could become the Czech submission for the 2024 Academy Awards.
The film, with a screenplay by Miro Šifra, is set in 1937’s Czechoslovakia and follows Helena (Eliška Křenková, Bird Atlas, Winter Flies) who is about to give birth and face a rosy future in a modern city as the wife of a successful young factory manager. “However, all her illusions soon perish, as the dead body of a newborn intersex baby is found in the middle of their factory,” a plot description highlights. “Helena needs to find out what happened here for the safety of her own child, but she runs into her own prejudices.
The film, with a screenplay by Miro Šifra, is set in 1937’s Czechoslovakia and follows Helena (Eliška Křenková, Bird Atlas, Winter Flies) who is about to give birth and face a rosy future in a modern city as the wife of a successful young factory manager. “However, all her illusions soon perish, as the dead body of a newborn intersex baby is found in the middle of their factory,” a plot description highlights. “Helena needs to find out what happened here for the safety of her own child, but she runs into her own prejudices.
- 7/6/2023
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The spectrum of gender and sexuality may seem to be a subject firmly rooted in the political and cultural squabbles of 2023, but Czech director Matej Chlupacek has chosen to look at it through the lens of 1937 in “We Have Never Been Modern,” an affecting drama that both relies on and transcends its period setting.
Set in the old Czechoslovakia (a fitting setting for a rare Czech and Slovak co-production) just prior to World War II, the film opened the Crystal Globe competition section of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Friday. Titled “Úsvit” in Czech but borrowing its English title from Bruno Latour’s 1991 cultural study, the film uses its prewar setting to add resonance to a portrait of a society trying to transform itself even as a large and destructive transformation looms just out of sight. At the same time, it deals with issues of sexuality, and panic over sexuality,...
Set in the old Czechoslovakia (a fitting setting for a rare Czech and Slovak co-production) just prior to World War II, the film opened the Crystal Globe competition section of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Friday. Titled “Úsvit” in Czech but borrowing its English title from Bruno Latour’s 1991 cultural study, the film uses its prewar setting to add resonance to a portrait of a society trying to transform itself even as a large and destructive transformation looms just out of sight. At the same time, it deals with issues of sexuality, and panic over sexuality,...
- 7/4/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
LevelK has boarded “We Have Never Been Modern,” a Czech period drama inspired by the true story of intersex people in the 1930’s. The film has been selected at Karlovy Vary and will be released in Czech Republic by Bontonfilm.
The movie, which marks the feature debut of Matěj Chlupáček (“Zrádci”), follows Helena, who is about to have a baby with an affluent factory manager. All her illusions soon perish when the dead body of a newborn intersex baby is found in the middle of their factory. Helena needs to find out what happened there for the safety of her own child, but she runs into her own prejudices.
“We Have Never Been Modern” stars Eliška Křenková, Miloslav König and newcomer Richard Langdon.
Chlupáček, who also produced the film, said he “chose to tell the story of ‘We Have Never Been’ because it communicates current and important topics, such as...
The movie, which marks the feature debut of Matěj Chlupáček (“Zrádci”), follows Helena, who is about to have a baby with an affluent factory manager. All her illusions soon perish when the dead body of a newborn intersex baby is found in the middle of their factory. Helena needs to find out what happened there for the safety of her own child, but she runs into her own prejudices.
“We Have Never Been Modern” stars Eliška Křenková, Miloslav König and newcomer Richard Langdon.
Chlupáček, who also produced the film, said he “chose to tell the story of ‘We Have Never Been’ because it communicates current and important topics, such as...
- 5/30/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
On the JoBlo Movies YouTube channel, we will be posting one full movie every other day throughout the week, giving viewers the chance to watch them entirely free of charge. The Free Movie of the Day we have for you today is the fantasy adventure film Princess Cursed in Time, and you can watch it over on the YouTube channel linked above, or you can just watch it in the embed at the top of this article.
Directed by Petr Kubik, who also crafted the screenplay with Lukás Parík and Viktor Kristof, Princess Cursed in Time has the following synopsis, which was provided by Kristof: Every day princess Ellena awakes to her 20th birthday celebrations knowing that she must kill the evil witch who cursed her or find a true love. In case she didn’t make it, the kingdom will be destroyed by dark storm, as it already had happened multiple times.
Directed by Petr Kubik, who also crafted the screenplay with Lukás Parík and Viktor Kristof, Princess Cursed in Time has the following synopsis, which was provided by Kristof: Every day princess Ellena awakes to her 20th birthday celebrations knowing that she must kill the evil witch who cursed her or find a true love. In case she didn’t make it, the kingdom will be destroyed by dark storm, as it already had happened multiple times.
- 3/22/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
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