Lovers in the Year One

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1973

Production year

1973

Premiere

15 March 1974

Runtime

92 min

Category

film

Genre

psychological

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Milenci v roce jedna

Czech title

Milenci v roce jedna

English title

Lovers in the Year One

Summary

The immediate aftermath of WWII is the backdrop for Milenci v roce jedna (Lovers in the Year One), a delicate love story filmed in 1973 by Jaroslav Balík. The director had built a career as the maker of ideologically “correct” pictures. However, in the drama exploring the coming together of two young people Balík conformed to the intimate, apolitical vision of his co-screenwriter, the novelist Jan Otčenášek. (It is worth mentioning, however, that the main female character was originally meant to be Jewish but this was deemed unacceptable in a normalisation-era movie). Two years previously Balík and Otčenášek had collaborated on a television “pensioners” variant on the fateful romantic encounter in the picture Romeo a Julie na konci listopadu (Romeo and Juliet at the End of November). While its protagonists optimistically resist the idea that their whole lives are behind them, Pavel and Helena are at the beginning of their existences. The shy girl, who is very cautious about becoming intimate with a young man she has met by chance, has been in a concentration camp. By contrast, the devil-may-care law student Pavel is open to all new experiences and as an amateur filmmaker attempts to capture the world around him with his 8mm camera. Helena, whom he meets on a walk through the city, represents a contradiction to his uncomplicated, joyful approach. However, with Pavel’s affectionate, loving help she manages to gradually overcome her traumatic past and accedes to a shared future. A third significant character in the narrative is Helena’s older sister Olga, who regards the relationship as untenable as the pair have had utterly different life experiences. She protects Helena from Pavel until the moment when her timid and passive sister succeeds in resisting her sister’s over-protective treatment… Cinematographer Jan Čuřík infused the narrative with an informal, natural atmosphere, which was reinforced by the then little-known leads Marta Vančurová and Viktor Preiss. Libuše Švormová plays Helena’s sister.

Synopsis

It is the summer of 1945. A party of young people are enjoying the beginning of a new life to the full. For them this is the year one. One of them, law student Pavel, is more attracted to film than to law. With his eight-millimetre camera, he films everything that catches his attention. One day he captures an interesting face on film, a girl with an air of mystery. Pavel visits the girl, whose name is Helena, and meets hers and her elder energetic sister Olga. From Olga, he learns that the girls have spent the years of German occupation in a concentration camp and cannot forget the horrors they have lived through. Olga also uncompromisingly warns Pavel that the differences in their war experiences mean that there is an unbridgeable gap between the girls and Pavel's group of friends. Despite this, Pavel does all he can to bring back joy and hope to Helena. With his gentle support, the girl gradually reconnects with her buried emotions and her desire to live. She is, however, incapable of physical love with Pavel, although the two young people have fallen in love with each other. The disappointed Pavel learns the reason for this refusal from Olga: while crossing the frontline Helena was raped by three German soldiers. With this knowledge, Pavel is able to help Helena overcome this handicap as well. Helena conceives a child with Pavel. Her sceptical sister puts pressure on the girl to have an abortion and immigrate with her to Australia. For the first time, the timid Helena resists her sister's authority, holds on to her child and gives priority to the future life with Pavel.

Film online

Cast

Marta Vančurová

Helena Poláková

Viktor Preiss

student práv Pavel Krouza, kinoamatér

Libuše Švormová

tlumočnice Olga, Helenina sestra

Petr Svojtka

student Evžen, Pavlův přítel

Ota Sklenčka

režisér

Jiří Kodet

asistent režie

Jan Teplý

muž v kožené bundě

Jitka Smutná

Zdena, Evženova dívka

Alena Kryštofková

Ivana

Jan Ekl

Kamil

Dagmar Nováková

skriptka

Rudolf Jokl

člen filmového štábu

Bohumil Vodička

člen filmového štábu

Vlasta Matuchová

členka filmového štábu

Václav Mareš

muž u Olgy

Karel Višic

truhlář Krouza, Pavlův otec

Oldřich Vlach

šmelinář

Eva Lorenzová

představitelka princezna

Hana Houbová

zdravotní sestra

Eva Olmerová

zpěvačka

Vladimír Bílek

zpěvák

Rudolf Kalina

herec/diskutér

Jana Posseltová

herečka

Milan Charvát

diskutér

Laco Déczi

hudebník

Zdeněk Kalhous

hudebník

Viktor Klinger

hudebník

Petr Král

hudebník

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Elmar Kloss

Assistant Director

Jiří Kratochvíl

Screenstory

Jan Otčenášek

Shooting Script

Jaroslav Balík

Director of Photography

Jan Čuřík

Second Unit Photography

Oldřich Hubáček

Camera Operator

Stanislav Šťastný

Production Designer

Zbyněk Hloch

Assistent Production Designer

Jiří Matolín

Set Designer

Ivo Černý, Miloš Osvald, Jiří Rulík, Jan Smejkal

Costume Designer

Marta Kaplerová

Assistant Film Editor

Eva Horázná

Sound Designer

Roman Hloch

Production Manager

Karel Kochman

Unit Production Manager

Ladislav Beneš, Petra Havlínová

Unit Production Manager

Přemysl Pražský

Cooperation

Ivana Švejdová (klapka), Jan Kuděla (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Karel Mareš

Selected Music

Bedřich Smetana (Má vlast /Vltava/), E. F. Burian (Předehra socialismu)

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Songwriter

Karel Mareš

Writer of Lyrics

Zdeněk Borovec

Songs

Na shledanou

Song Composer Karel Mareš
Writer of Lyrics Zdeněk Borovec
Singer Václav Irmanov

Cvrček muzikant

Song Composer Kamil Běhounek
Writer of Lyrics Karel Kozel
Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Milenci v roce jedna

Czech Title

Milenci v roce jedna

English Title

Lovers in the Year One

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

psychological

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1973

Production Year

1973

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 6 November 1972
start of filming 2 January 1973
technical Screenplay approved 5 March 1973
end of filming 21 September 1973
projection approval 26 September 1973

Premiere

premiere 14 March 1974 /unsuitable for youths/ (kino Lucerna, Praha)
premiere 15 March 1974 /unsuitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Oty Hofmana, Ota Hofman (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

92 min

Original length in metres

2 581 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Event: Múzy pražských diváků

1975
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Marta Vančurová

Vítěz

Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu za rok 1974

1975
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Jaroslav Balík

Vítěz

Event: 11. mezinárodní setkání mledého filmu Cannes

1975
Cannes / France
Marta Vančurová

Vítěz

Event: 47. ročník Ceny americké Akademie filmových věd a umění Oscar 1974

1975
Hollywood, Los Angeles / United States of America

Vítěz

Festival: 12. filmový festival mladých Trutnov

1974
Trutnov / Czechoslovakia
Marta Vančurová

Vítěz

Event: Československá nominace na Cenu americké Akademie filmových věd a umění Oscar 1974

1974
Praha / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 12. festival českých a slovenských filmů Nitra

1974
Nitra / Czechoslovakia
Marta Vančurová

Vítěz

Festival: 19. mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary

1974
Karlovy Vary / Czechoslovakia
Marta Vančurová

Vítěz

Festival: 12. filmový festival mladých Trutnov

1974
Trutnov / Czechoslovakia