Shame

Summary

Throughout the late 1950s and early 60s, director Ladislav Helge’s films took on an increasingly independent and critical point-of-view. From Škola otců (School for Fathers, 1957), the trend continued with the drama about the establishment of a cooperative in a Moravian village, Velká samota (Great Solitude, 1959). During the early 1960s, Helge’s Jarní povětří (Spring Breeze, 1961) served as an analysis of the stormy atmosphere of the 1948 communist takeover from the point-of-view of students. Helge’s courage in challenging regime orthodoxy was strengthened by the increasingly liberal climate of the 1960s. Following the war drama Bílá oblaka (White Clouds, 1962) and the subsequent critically-minded Bez svatozáře (Without a Halo, 1963), Helge quite naturally fused into the Czechoslovak New Wave via a story about a new father’s encounter with a troubled teenager, První den mého syna (Chance Meeting, 1964). The political drama Stud (Shame, 1967) offered the public a topical, non-ideologically conformist picture of the life of a regime functionary and top-placed workers, who devote all their energies to shameless self-enrichment. The drama, co-written by Helge and Ivan Kříž, offers Arnošt Pánek, chairman of the National Committee, as the protagonist of the story. Pánek is disturbed by news of the arrest of his protégé Kvasil – chairman of a JZD agricultural cooperative in the nearby village of Spádová. He is responsible for the revival of a neglected village, but is now accused of theft, fraud, and – on top of that – the rape of an under-aged girl. Surprisingly, this latter deed is shown to be the least of the charges levelled against the accused, which serves as a testament to the lack of seriousness with which such crimes were viewed during these times. Pánek discovers that Kvasil has committed a series of transgressions against socialist property, and that his subordinates know about it. This leads our protagonist to reconsider whether he too should remain in his post, which is also causing conflicts with his daughter. Slovak actor Július Pántik takes the lead role in this taut drama. The appearance of many other lesser-known Slovak actors adds to the authenticity of the piece. Released in May 1968, during the “normalisation” era, Stud (Shame) would find itself locked away in the censors’ infamous vault.

Synopsis