Catherine and Her Children

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1970

Production year

1970

Premiere

19 September 1975

Runtime

78 min

Category

film

Genre

drama

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Kateřina a její děti

Czech title

Kateřina a její děti

English title

Catherine and Her Children

Summary

This village-based 1970 drama from director Václav Gajer met with the same fate as a slew of other films suddenly subjected to the “normalisation-era” whims of the censor. But its pessimistic and existential tone, reflecting the nature of Czechoslovak New Wave films of the 1960s, was left intact nonetheless. Consequently, this raw, brooding story set in a forgotten mountain village somewhere in the Beskydy Mountains only made its way to cinemas in 1975, five years after completion. The heroes of the story are women – widow Kateřina Valigurová and her three daughters, all fruitlessly seeking a safe place to settle in a male-dominated world. In the end, they are forced to rely on their own strengths and women’s solidarity. The film benefits from ethereal cinematography by Jan Čuřík, a timeless natural backdrop, and also top-notch performances by lesser-known actors (somewhat tainted by efforts to have the principals speak in Moravian Wallachian dialects). It is regarded as the strongest of Gajer’s films; in subsequent years, the director opted for non-controversial escapist children’s movies.

Synopsis

After the death of her husband, Kateřina Valigurová cares for her three daughters and a farmstead alone. Life has never been kind to her, and she, too, thus often behaves harshly. She, however, loves her daughters with a non-sentimental love and does her best for the family to live according to settled rules. The oldest daughter, Kateřina, lives in a city, married to an army officer, and Valigurová is now marrying off the second daughter Marie. But at the wedding, the groom Cyril has a fight with a guileful man nicknamed Marmalade [Marmeláda], and, being on probation, is taken to jail a few days after the wedding. Marie is left alone in Cyril's home and becomes a source of temptation for the village men - the village teacher confesses his love to her and Marmalade tries to rape her. When he fails, he begins to spread gossip about Marie, telling that she lives with the crazy Umpaj. Anděla, the youngest, who is still trying to find out who she is, runs away from home after a quarrel with her mother. Kateřina, on the contrary, returns home, having been abandoned by her husband. The proud Valigurová cannot bear so much unhappiness and falls ill. One day, Anděla appears in the village, pregnant. Both her sisters are afraid to tell the news to the mother, but she soon recovers. With the new life in the family, she also finds a new meaning of life. The four women merrily wade through the snow to have the successor of the family, Anděla's son, baptised.

Note

The film was finished in 1970 and was handed over to the Central Film Distributors on the 1st of September 1969, but its distribution was approved only five years later.

Cast

Zora Rozsypalová

dělnice na pile Kateřina Valigurová zvaná Valigurka

Drahomíra Hofmanová

Marie, prostřední dcera Kateřiny

Jorga Kotrbová

Anděla, nejmladší dcera Kateřiny

Jana Vychodilová

Kateřina, nejstarší dcera Kateřiny

Karel Augusta

strážný na pile Jan Prda zvaný Marmeláda, strážný na pile

Václav Sloup

kočí Jan Dorňák

Petr Kopřiva

blázen Umpaj

Jaromír Hanzlík

učitel Jarda Pavlíček

Jiří Pleskot

řídící učitel

Zuzana Ondrouchová

servírka Jana

Jiří Tomek

Cyril Argaláš, Mariin muž

Oldřich Velen

hostinský, Janin otec

Jaroslav Cmíral

příslušník VB

František Čužna

příslušník VB

František Hanus

kovář Podešva

Jan Pohan

Pavel, manžel Kateřiny, kapitán armády

Ludmila Roubíková

porodní bába

Helena Růžičková

hostinská, Janina matka

Jaroslava Tichá

Koňařička

Vladimír Ptáček

hajný Klaban

Jan Teplý

úředník ve vězení

Miloš Grossman

účetní z pily

Oldřich Velen

hospodský

Jan Koliha

hudebník

Josef Lang

hudebník

Jiří Malý

hudebník

Karel Venzara

hudebník

Jar. Drážďanský

hudebník

Jar. Vokál

hudebník

Bernard Marek

hudebník

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Miroslav Kubišta

Assistant Director

Josef Sandr

Based on

Jiří Křenek (Hořké deště – román)

Shooting Script

Václav Gajer

Director of Photography

Jan Čuřík

Second Unit Photography

Oldřich Hubáček

Camera Operator

Stanislav Šťastný

Production Designer

Bohuslav Kulič

Assistent Production Designer

Věra Líznerová

Set Designer

Josef Calta, Jiří Štípek, Václav Šebek

Costume Designer

Lída Novotná

Film Editor

Zdeněk Stehlík

Assistant Film Editor

Jana Šimůnková

Sound Designer

Emil Poledník

Production Manager

Jiří Bečka

Unit Production Manager

Jaroslav Koucký, Olga Mimrová

Unit Production Manager

Jaroslava Pražská

Cooperation

Eva Truchlá (klapka), Jan Kuděla (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Miloš Vacek

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Songs

Zavrť sa mně, dcérečko

Song Composer lidová píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer sbor

Ej, zomrela mně žena

Song Composer lidová píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer sbor

Byla jsem ve Frenštátě

Song Composer lidová píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer František Hanus

Pytlácká

Song Composer lidová píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer Vladimír Ptáček

Perina má čtyry rožky

Song Composer lidová slovenská píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová slovenská píseň
Singer Drahomíra HofmanováZora RozsypalováJorga Kotrbová

Hore potůčky, zelené lúčky

Song Composer lidová píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer Drahomíra HofmanováJana Vychodilová

Už mně koně vyvádějí

Song Composer lidová píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Kateřina a její děti

Czech Title

Kateřina a její děti

English Title

Catherine and Her Children

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1970

Production Year

1970

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 07/1969
technical Screenplay approved 17 November 1969
start of filming 5 February 1970
end of filming 17 May 1970
the first film copy approved 20 August 1970
projection approval 1 September 1970 (neschváleno do distribuce)

Premiere

premiere 19 September 1975 /unsuitable for youths/ (omezená distribuce)
premiere 16 October 1975 /unsuitable for youths/ (kina Paříž /2 týdny/, Mír /1 týden od 30. 10./, Svornost /1 týden od 6. 11./, Odboj /1 týden od 13. 11./, Vzlet /1 týden od 20. 11./ a Běchovice /1 týden od 4. 12./, Praha)

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Šmída – Kunc (příprava), František Břetislav Kunc (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Bohumil Šmída (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí a vedoucí výrobní skupiny), Dramaturgická skupina Karla Copa, Karel Cop (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Výrobní skupina Bohumila Šmídy

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

78 min

Original length in metres

2 245 meters

Distribution carrier

35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

Colour

black & white

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech