{"id":6545,"date":"2023-05-13T22:30:50","date_gmt":"2023-05-13T20:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/?p=6545"},"modified":"2023-05-13T22:31:46","modified_gmt":"2023-05-13T20:31:46","slug":"kristyna-brazdova-legacy-of-jaroslav-kucera-and-thoughts-on-cinematography-as-a-form-of-art-odkaz-jaroslava-kucery-a-uvahy-o-kamere-jako-svebytne-umelecke-forme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/?p=6545","title":{"rendered":"Krist\u00fdna Br\u00e1zdov\u00e1: Legacy of Jaroslav Ku\u010dera and thoughts on cinematography as a form of art \/ Odkaz Jaroslava Ku\u010dery a \u00favahy o kame\u0159e jako sv\u00e9bytn\u00e9 um\u011bleck\u00e9 form\u011b"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Krist\u00fdna Br\u00e1zdov\u00e1 se ve sv\u00e9m eseji zam\u00fd\u0161l\u00ed nad autorsk\u00fdm projevem v\u00fdznamn\u00e9ho kameramana (nejen) \u010ceskoslovensk\u00e9 nov\u00e9 vlny Jaroslava Ku\u010dery. Text zve\u0159ej\u0148ujeme v p\u016fvodn\u00edm anglick\u00e9m zn\u011bn\u00ed, jeliko\u017e vznikl v r\u00e1mci autor\u010dina studijn\u00edho pobytu na polsk\u00e9 filmov\u00e9 \u0161kole Krzysztof Kie\u015blowski Film School.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201eAle m\u011b stra\u0161n\u011b zaj\u00edm\u00e1 vyzkou\u0161et jednou mo\u017enost vytvo\u0159it z filmov\u00e9ho obrazu docela
autonomn\u00ed z\u00e1le\u017eitost, je\u017e by se vymykala z konven\u010dn\u00edho pojet\u00ed filmu. Jde o to, zda ve filmu
vytv\u00e1\u0159\u00edme jenom v\u00edce \u010di m\u00e9n\u011b kr\u00e1sn\u00e9 pohybliv\u00e9 obrazy n\u011b\u010deho, nebo zda by tyto obrazy
mohly b\u00fdt samy nositeli v\u00fdznamu, sd\u011blovat n\u011bco nikoli objektivn\u011b, n\u00fdbr\u017e subjektivn\u011b. Prost\u011b
ud\u011blat s filmem pokus na takov\u00e9 \u00farovni, kde je u\u017e d\u00e1vno doma modern\u00ed mal\u00ed\u0159stv\u00ed, poezie,
hudba. Vytvo\u0159it novou soustavu sd\u011blovac\u00edch prost\u0159edk\u016f filmu.\u201c (Hames 2008, 213)<\/p>\n\n\n\n


(I am really interested in trying to create a sense of autonomy of the film image one day, in a
way that would differ from the conventional approach to film. The thing with films is – are we
just creating more or less beautiful moving images of something? Or could those pictures
hold meaning on their own? Telling something not objectively, but subjectively. We could just
experiment with film on a level which modern painting, poetry or music has already reached.
We could create new means of communication in film.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n


It\u2019s strange to write about cinematography, the result of a cinematographer’s work, without
using image to prove a point. I can try my best to describe what I saw but still it can be just a
shadow of what the image actually looked like. Because unlike in the Scripture, in the
beginning of a film, there were no words, there were pictures. The relationship between a
screenplay and images is something that I am trying to understand these days. A film can
start as a series of visions inside the director’s or screenwriter\u2019s head. Then it gets clumsily
translated to words that somehow have to evoke the original vision that is then produced by
a cinematographer and the whole team of people that create a moving picture. At least that\u2019s
how I have always imagined it. But during my stay in Katowice I finally started to understand
what goes into the work of a cinematographer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


It\u2019s not just about fulfilling someone\u2019s vision, it is also about having a vision of your own. And
that is quite hard to hear on the other side, by the writing table. Do the words actually matter
if they won\u2019t be followed in the end? I don\u2019t know the answer to that question. Also I don\u2019t
know if my words matter at all. But I have to admit, that it\u2019s the cinematographer’s and
costume designer\u2019s work that brought me to studying screenwriting after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


When I was deciding where to go to university, I abandoned my years-long plan of going to a
diplomatic career and realised that I want to pursue art. I was torn between fine arts and
literature. And when I saw Sedmikr\u00e1sky, Val\u00e9rie a t\u00fdden div\u016f and In the Mood for Love, I
came to a conclusion that I can have both, if I choose to study film, if I choose to study
screenwriting. The visual aspect that I wasn\u2019t used to from \u201enormal\u201c films was what spoke to
me. And it feels like a full circle trying to understand what is behind those images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


I chose to write my essay about Jaroslav Ku\u010dera, one of the most important
cinematographers of Czechoslovak New Wave. He collaborated with many different directors
such as Jan N\u011bmec, V\u011bra Chytilov\u00e1, Jaromil Jire\u0161, Vojt\u011bch Jasn\u00fd or Juraj Herz. The usual
approach when trying to analyse a film is to try to distinguish a specific style of the director.
But looking at the cinematographer\u2019s side can help us suddenly see the unique ideas that
he\u2019s bringing to the works of different directors. If he had worked in an artistic tandem it could
be much harder to realise if it is just the style of the director or of the cinematographer, I
think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Over the course of his life, Jaroslav Ku\u010dera was part of many projects, so I decided to focus
only on one of them – A\u017e p\u0159ijde kocour (1963, dir. Vojt\u011bch Jasn\u00fd). There are many significant
films that he worked on but I chose this one because it is probably the first of Ku\u010dera\u2019s
experiments with colour (that he later developed more while working on Chytilov\u00e1\u2019s
Sedmikr\u00e1sky, for example) (Hames 2008, 67). I would also say that many examples of his
strengths can be found in this film therefore I can demonstrate them on stills from it.
Because I realised that one image in such a case really speaks more than a thousand
words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The film A\u017e p\u0159ijde kocour (The Cassandra Cat) tells a lyrical story of villagers that are taken
by surprise by a visit of a wizard, an acrobat and a magical cat. The cat can make people
appear literally in their true colours – purple representing hypocrisy, yellow infidelity, grey
theft and red love. That is not appreciated by the local school\u2019s director who is trying to get
rid of the cat. But the village\u2019s children demand justice. The film is shot on colour film
material and the figures of people in certain scenes are colourized in post production. That is
one of the most distinctive visual elements of the film. But the film also shows other
interesting features that indicate Ku\u010dera\u2019s talents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


The very first shot shows us children\u2019s painting of the village on the wall. It gives us a hint
about the location of the story and also indicates that children and their pictures are going to
play an important part in the story. We can see that later in the film when the camera shows
us how children at school paint according to their fantasy during Jan Werich\u2019s character\u2019s
story-telling. I would say that this shot also speaks about Ku\u010dera\u2019s sensitivity to different
textures that is visible in his other works, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


Another shot depicts the narrator of the whole story, Mr Oliva played by a legendary Czech
actor Jan Werich. He looks out of the clock from the top of the village tower. He, as the
narrator, has an overlook of the whole main square and later introduces us to all of the main
characters. But the term main character is kind of problematic with this film because, like in
many other Czech and Slovak films of this period, there is a so-called \u201ecollective hero\u201c,
which basically means that the story focuses on a group or more groups of people (Hames
2008, 68). I decided to include this shot in particular because I think it\u2019s a very unexpected
and entertaining way to introduce the narrator. It can be also seen as a nod to the silent film
Safety Last! (1923), in my opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


This still represents the main part of the exposition where Mr Oliva describes the villagers
and we see them through his point of view. The image is slightly blurred as he is watching
them with a magnifying glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


A key element that is characteristic for this film are shots of birds in the sky. They represent
freedom which is one the main topics of the film. The symbol of birds is used on many
occasions in the film and the meaning slightly changes each time depending on the context.
I think that this can be seen as the example of Ku\u010dera\u2019s attempts to use images that hold
their own meaning. Also the fact that it\u2019s not just any bird, it\u2019s a stork to be exact, is quite
important. The story takes place in the Vyso\u010dina Region, in particular in a historical town
called Tel\u010d where the director Jasn\u00fd comes from. And storks are very common in this area. I
used to come to Tel\u010d every year with my grandparents because we spent summer in the
region and the storks are pretty much a symbol of my time there. On our way there we would
look out of the car to see them nesting on high chimneys and we would try to count how
many little ones they had. I think that sensitivity to such things speaks volumes about
Ku\u010dera\u2019s and Jasn\u00fd\u2019s approach to filmmaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


This shot is one of several that use something (partly) transparent to adjust our view on
something. Like in this case, we see the square blurred by the rain on a window. Or later,
when we are in some sort of a tent for the performers and the walls of the tent are made
from a see-through green fabric. Or in a scene where a girl paints a cat on a window in a
shop and we see her through the painted window. I think that\u2019s a really nice play with depth
of field and also with textures in this shot in the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


In this scene we are in a classroom where Mr Robert, one of the most important characters,
teaches. We can hear the children\u2019s whispering and the camera focuses on close-ups of
their faces. We get closer to them so it\u2019s not just an anonymous crowd that keeps the plot
moving later on. We get to know them more personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


Similar thing happens when Mr Robert tells them to draw what they like or dislike about their
town or what they would like to change about the place where they live. In the sound we
hear the children\u2019s thoughts about what they dislike about things that their parents or fellow
residents do. And Jaroslav Ku\u010dera decided to do an interesting thing by showing little scenes
from the village on children\u2019s blank pages so we clearly see what they are thinking about.
The children, unlike many of the adults in this film, still believe in ideals such as friendship,
honesty and truth. And they have their inner sense for justice that their teacher Mr Robert is
trying to support, but many other characters including some of their own parents or the
school\u2019s director are doing the contrary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


With this still I decided to include one of the most captivating scenes where the janitor and
also the dogbody of the school director brings stuffed stork that the director had previously
killed. The director tells the janitor to make it fly which starts a crazy camera ride as he runs
around in circles around the director, his wife and his secretary. The scene (accompanied by
cheerful music) has a lot of irony to it. The office is also decorated with purple curtains which
gives us a hint about which colour is going to turn the director and his friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


After the crazy ride comes a scene that is very much in contrast with the previous one. Mr
Oliva is supposed to be a model for the children to paint but he tells them a story instead and
the children decide to paint what he is talking about. From a cinematography point of view,
this scene is important to me, because there are no special effects just for the sake of it.
Ku\u010dera leaves a room for the actor to be the main focus of this scene. And it really works
because Jan Werich is a great story-teller (he also helped to write parts of the script) and he
steals the show in a good way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


This scene is unlike anything I\u2019ve seen in a cinema. It takes place after the arrival of the
circus performers to the village. They create a spectacle in the courtyard of the local chateau
that is quite eye-opening for the villagers because it reflects their own life. The scene was
done with a group of actual mimes and the clothing silhouettes on a dark background create
a fascinating view. In this picture in particular there are white silhouettes of birds again
created with the hands of the performers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


With this still I would like to demonstrate one of other elements that Ku\u010dera uses. He blends
two shots together and creates a new meaning for them. Here we can see a rose that
symbolises the people who are filled with love. And the picture gets transformed into the
silhouette of the acrobat dressed in a red costume. Similar technique is used also later when
Ku\u010dera blends together several different shots of renaissance houses on the main square.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here is an example of the colourized figures that appear after the magical cat looks at them.
Ku\u010dera experimented with colour also later in his career, for example in Chytilov\u00e1\u2019s
Sedmikr\u00e1sky and also later in Noc na Karl\u0161tejn\u011b for example, in one of the most famous
scenes. Ku\u010dera also had an archive of his diary or \u201ehome videos\u201c where he was trying some
of his experiments (\u201cCo \u0159\u00edk\u00e1 den\u00edk Jaroslava Ku\u010dery o jeho tvorb\u011b a \u017eivot\u011b s V\u011brou
Chytilovou\u201d 2019, Respekt). I decided to include more stills from this scene because apart
from the colourisation, lighting and composition plays an important role as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


And here we can see one of the characters that is moving and turning purple but we can see
parts of red as well. That suggests the character development that she undergoes later in
the story. Similar visual experiments Ku\u010dera also applied for example in Sedmikr\u00e1sky or in
hallucination scenes in Morgiana (1972).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


In the above picture and also in the two following I wanted to demonstrate Ku\u010dera\u2019s
sensitivity to natural light. This sensitivity is also visible in garden scenes in Morgiana, for
example. This first one is especially interesting to me because as Diana, the acrobat
character, moves the umbrella against the sun, the light shines through and gives her face a
red shadow even without colourisation in post production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


In one of the dream-like scenes, Mr Robert and Diana run through the fields, filled with
happiness. In this particular shot we can see Ku\u010dera\u2019s ability to capture natural landscapes
that was also influenced by another important Czech cinematographer Jan Stallich (Hames
2008, 35). This ability is also visible in another Jasn\u00fd\u2019s film where Ku\u010dera was as a DOP, in
V\u0161ichni dob\u0159\u00ed rod\u00e1ci. The way the edges of the hills are glowing with warm light reminds of
paintings of Joseph Rebell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


At the end I wanted to include four shots that capture the unique architecture and
atmosphere of Tel\u010d in different lighting situations. The one above where children paint the
cat on rooftops reminds me of another Czechoslovak New Wave film called Slnko v sieti that
has a similar lyrical approach and also some scenes take place on rooftops (just not in Tel\u010d,
but in Bratislava instead).<\/p>\n\n\n\n


I think that Ku\u010dera decided to use many shots from a bird’s eye perspective not only to show
us the interesting location but also to give us a broader perspective on the characters and
their conflicts. When people get too caught up in their daily troubles and arguments it\u2019s
sometimes really hard to see the bigger picture and realise what actually matters in life. And
it\u2019s a great opportunity to use film as a medium to show that. This perspective is also
connected to the symbols of birds that are used throughout the film. They look down on the
people and their struggles, just like the narrator when he\u2019s watching them from the tower. But
he also becomes one of the characters, he is also part of the story that he is telling, only the
birds remain above, unless some of the villagers decide to shoot them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To conclude, I would like to mention that this film is an example of the legacy of the First
Republic period (1918 – 1938) that was one of the most important cultural periods of modern
day Czechia. During this time, there was the artistic style called poetism and in my opinion
this film brings to attention several key elements of this style and in a way tries to continue
the artistic movement established several decades earlier (as the development was
interrupted by the Second World War). Those elements include inspiration in folk
entertainment, lyrical and playful approach to life and happiness found in ordinary things.
Another way in which the First Republic legacy is presented is through the casting of Jan
Werich who was (along with Ji\u0159\u00ed Voskovec) one of the most important figures in satirical
theatre. The musical and less narrative parts of the film also take inspiration in revue style
performances from theatre, in my opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


I feel the need to mention that even though Ku\u010dera\u2019s imagery is very fascinating and holds a
meaning, I can\u2019t help myself thinking that what brings another layer of subjectivity to the film
is its sound. Be it through music, dialogues or sound effects, it\u2019s hard to imagine the film
without it. It reminds me of an interview that I had with one director that I included in my
bachelor\u2019s thesis. He shared with me his experience that the viewer has a tendency to
perceive a picture as pure information and the sound is what adds the emotional layer to it
(Br\u00e1zdov\u00e1 2022, JAMU). I agree with him and I think that the importance of sound can be
often underestimated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


I wonder if Ku\u010dera actually reached his goal that he mentions in the quote at the beginning of
my essay. With visual aspects (but not just with them, but also with art in general) there is
always the risk that we create beautiful pictures and special effects just for the sake of it and
we lose track of the meaning. In my opinion, despite many of Ku\u010dera’s innovative ideas, his
imagery still stays true to the meaning of the film. But there is always the risk that it won\u2019t be
perceived that way. He personally described the case of Sedmikr\u00e1sky, where he had his
artistic vision but the aesthetic of the film started to develop on its own during shooting and
also after the film was finished (Hames 2008, 211). And from my own experience, I am not
sure how many people who see Sedmikr\u00e1sky or any other very visually unique film enjoy it
as the colourful and crazy fun that it seems to be and how many actually search for the
meaning behind it. Both Chytilov\u00e1 and Ku\u010dera wanted an active viewer that finds his own
understanding of the film. But when I saw it for the first time, I wouldn\u2019t describe myself as an
active viewer, I was just in awe that such a film exists and that was it. Maybe the words
matter in the end. Or maybe one has to train himself or herself to look at pictures and also
see behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


That brings me to another point which is the Ku\u010dera\u2019s influence in today\u2019s cinematography or
more the lack thereof. When I look at famous Czech films from the 60s to the 70s (Hames
2008, 98) but also from the First Republic period, there was a strong line of lyrical films that
were not afraid to disattach from realism while still remaining relevant to reality. Maybe I\u2019m
wrong but I feel like Czech contemporary film is missing this approach. And while Ku\u010dera\u2019s
work is certainly not forgotten (he had an exhibition in D\u016fm um\u011bn\u00ed in Brno in 2017 and there
is a book about him (\u201cJaroslav Ku\u010dera: kameraman \u010deskoslovensk\u00e9 nov\u00e9 vlny | dafilms.cz\u201d
2019)), I think that partly because of the Soviet invasion that interrupted cultural
development after 1968 and also due to commercialization of films after the Velvet
Revolution in 1989, we lost something that made Czech film unique. Maybe it\u2019s time to think
about finding it again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Krist\u00fdna Br\u00e1zdov\u00e1 se ve sv\u00e9m eseji zam\u00fd\u0161l\u00ed nad autorsk\u00fdm projevem v\u00fdznamn\u00e9ho kameramana (nejen) \u010ceskoslovensk\u00e9 nov\u00e9 vlny Jaroslava Ku\u010dery. Text zve\u0159ej\u0148ujeme v p\u016fvodn\u00edm anglick\u00e9m zn\u011bn\u00ed, jeliko\u017e vznikl v r\u00e1mci autor\u010dina studijn\u00edho pobytu na polsk\u00e9 filmov\u00e9 \u0161kole Krzysztof Kie\u015blowski Film School. \u201eAle m\u011b stra\u0161n\u011b zaj\u00edm\u00e1 vyzkou\u0161et jednou mo\u017enost vytvo\u0159it z filmov\u00e9ho obrazu docelaautonomn\u00ed z\u00e1le\u017eitost, je\u017e by se […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-texty","category-tvorba"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6545"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6571,"href":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6545\/revisions\/6571"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rtds.jamu.cz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}