The Party and the Guests

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1966

Production year

1965

Premiere

30 December 1966

Runtime

68 min

Director

Jan Němec

Genre

allegory

Typology

featurelong

Original title

O slavnosti a hostech

Czech title

O slavnosti a hostech

English title

The Party and the Guests

Working Title

Zpráva o slavnosti a hostech / Letní karneval

Summary

One of the most celebrated titles of the Czechoslovak New Wave. This 1966 picture was director Jan Němec’s second feature film following Démanty noci (Diamonds of the Night, 1964). Following that existential wartime drama, written in collaboration with author and screenwriter Arnošt Lustig, Němec teamed up with Ester Krumbachová for his second film. This screenwriter, author and designer was a key figure in the New Wave, which brought forth a dynamic and liberated aesthetic into the country’s cinema output. Her collaboration with director Věra Chytilová continued beyond the 1960s era, during which time Krumbachová also worked with Němec as a costume designer in Démanty noci, as well as on the scripts for Mučedníci lásky (Martyrs of Love, 1966) and O slavnosti a hostech (The Party and the Guests, 1966). The main characters in this loosely flowing tale are a group of people who, on an ideal summer’s day, head out to the birthday party of a highly-placed important personage. The jovial host presents a facade of well-being, but the open-air celebrations are disrupted by a seemingly insignificant minor annoyance. One of the guests – a brooding husband – leaves. This leads to a manhunt, led by Rudolf, a member of the host’s security detail. A hunting dog and most guests also join in. The reason for the fuss is that the missing guest has broken an unwritten rule of this micro-society, based on apathy, blasé lies, and a hushed-up sense of guilt. Němec’s minimalist story of escape can be read in various ways (primarily as a political allegory about the various masked forces pulling the strings behind-the-scenes, willing to liquidate anyone unwilling to partake in the “collective” celebration of the regime). During its premiere, the film offended regime sensibilities and was subsequently even subjected to a parliamentary inquiry. After briefly being banned outright, during the 1970s and 80s the film disappeared into the censor’s “vault”. The film features many noted Czech intellectuals of the day. Its Kafka-esque tones brought it much international acclaim.

Synopsis

It is a summer day. Several people in good humour are having a snack on a meadow. Josef is meticulously polite, Karel sips wine and keeps praising democracy, František proves to be a good companion, Eva and Marta are jolly girls. The only married couple is a talkative blonde and her taciturn and a bit withdrawn husband. After the snack, the company makes up, changes into cocktail dress and sets off to attend the birthday party of a high functionary. On a forest path, they are surrounded by a group of weird men. Rudolf, the leader of the gang, is seemingly sincere but in fact rather arrogant and aggressive. He divides the men and women into two groups and launches some kind of interrogation. Josef turns servile, Karel protests a little, becoming the target of Rudolf's assaults and minor violence. The host appears in between the trees in a white tuxedo, shouting Rudolf down but at the same time claiming him as his adopted son. All the visitors tenaciously pretend that everything was just a joke and seat themselves by set-up tables. The blonde weeps because her husband has left. He did not enjoy the company where no one likes anybody. The host feels offended. Rudolf decides to make everything right and sends his men headed by a dog-hunter to find the husband, arming himself with a gun. The subsequent man-hunt involves most of the guests. Those who remain put the candles off, sit by the tables in puzzlement and listen to the increasingly loud barking of a dog.

Photos

Set Designer

Jaroslav Ciboch, Vladimír Mácha, Jiří Široký

Costume Designer

Ester Krumbachová

Costumes

Miloslava Skořepová, František Kauler

Make-Up Artist

Ladislav Bacílek, František Havlíček, Jana Pospíšilová

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Sound Designer

Jiří Pavlík

Production Manager

Ladislav Kalaš

Unit Production Manager

Adolf Široký, Josef Mathauser

Unit Production Manager

Vlasta Mathauserová

Cooperation

Jana Cunderlová, Jitka Šulcová, Jiří Kotlář

Music

Music Composed by

Karel Mareš

Music Performed by

FISYO

Music Conducted by

Štěpán Koníček (FISYO)

Production info

Original Title

O slavnosti a hostech

English Title

The Party and the Guests

Working Title

Zpráva o slavnosti a hostech / Letní karneval

Typology

feature

Genre

allegory

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1966

Production Year

1965

Premiere

30 December 1966

Production

Filmové studio Barrandov

Copyright Holders

Copyright

Production year

Premiere

Runtime

Director

Category

Genre

Typology

Original title

Czech title

English title

Working Title

Summary

Synopsis

Photos

Cast

Antonín Pražák

Josef Podaný

Otakar Bohata

Vladimír Tvrz

Adolf Široký

Josef Hrbek

Jaromír Komínek

Ctibor Sobotka

Zdeněk Mošnička

Stanislav Partl

Vl. Simín

Josef Elis

Pavel Šilhánek

Oldřich Lepšík

Boh. Dvořák

Pavel Jaderník

Marie Jančová

Herbert Kisza

Karel Volf

Vilém Nademlejnský

Emanuel Pejška

Irena Pejšková

Herbert Koza

J. Tolar

Antonín Kolářský

Václav Rath

V. Maršálek

E. Vach

Michal Bošek

Jakub Gregor

Zdena Horová

Jiřina Jandová

Marie Smejkalová

Marie Karezová

Otta Kutil

Božena Soukupová

Marie Vávrová

Zuzana Vyskočilová

Helena Vyskočilová

Naďa Tronerová

Helena Šindelářová

Marta Tvrzová

Marie Simínová

H. Ťukalová

Crew and creators

Director

Second Unit Director

Assistant Director

Screenstory

Screenplay

Shooting Script

Camera

Camera Operator

Production Designer

Art Director

Set Designer

Costume Designer

Costumes

Make-Up Artist

Film Editor

Sound Designer

Production Manager