(Films include English subtitles)
Screenings Begin in the Czech Classroom at 7pm
$5 donation includes free first pilsner, pop or soda
PRESENTS ITS 2022-23 EDUCATIONAL LINE-UP OF CZECH FILM CLASSES
(English Subtitles) on the 3rd Friday of the Month to coincide with the Sokol Spirit World Beer Club which starts at 8pm! The Czech films start at 7pm in our Czech classroom upstairs and with donation of $5 you get a free pilsner, pop, or water. Our Czech language instructor will be introducing you to all the film background and will be there to answer questions. This is our 10th season! 5/2022
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!!!!!
December 16 The Snowdrop Festival (Slavnosti sněženek) 1987; 84 Minutes; PG; Comedy/Drama; English Subtitles. Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Jiří Menzel, based on the book by Bohumil Hrabal, who plays a small part in the film. The film is set in a small village called Kersko (Central Bohemia where Hrabal retired). The film is about the lives, hobbies and relationships of people living in a small village.
2023
February 17 Late Night Talks with Mother (Noční hovory s matkou) 2001; 68 Minutes; G; English w Subtitles.; Plus a 13 minute interview with Jan Němec. An artistically experimental feature film with heavily autobiographical elements from the enfant terrible of Czech cinema, Jan Němec. The director carries out a cinematic-psychoanalytic probe into his own fate. In this cleverly stylized movie (a seeming counterpart to Franz Kafka’s (Czech native) Letter to His Father). Actors include Václav Havel (Czech Republic president (1989-2003) and fellow FAMU graduate and cousin to Jan Němec.
March 17 John Hus, the journey of no return (Jan Hus: Cesta bez navratu), 2017; 55 Minutes; G; English dubbed. 14th century Czech priest and scholar John Hus is considered one of the first Protestant reformers. His interpretation of scripture and his bold stand against church corruption would strongly influence Martin Luther a century later. Hus spent his last days as a prisoner in Constance (Germany) on charges of heresy. During his imprisonment Hus formed an unusual friendship with one of his jailers, Robert Talio. Hus’s demonstration of faith in the face of death won Talio over to his cause. This historically based documentary produced for Czech television features outstanding dramatized scenes that reveal Hus’s humanity and depict his unwavering commitment to God’s mercy and justice.
April 21 He Stood at the Register/Cash Claim Chaos (U poklady stal) 1939/1951; 101 Minutes; GP; Comedy. The last film title, which director Karel Lamač made just before emigrating from his Nazi-threatened homeland (Czechoslovakia), was a double comedy starring Vlasta Burian. In the film, the popular comedian played the hospital nurse Kryštof Rozruch, who, thanks to a confusion with his superior, the respected mayor Mark, obtains a spa stay from the health insurance company. In the Rochov (Central Czech Republic) spa, the nurse meets the real Mark, who, on the other hand, pretends to be Ruby in front of his girlfriend Heda to test the power of her selfless love… The comedy full of confusion provided Burian and his colleagues with plenty of opportunities for improvisation.
May 19 Howling with the Angels 2006; 60 Minutes; PG 13; Political drama When Hitler’s Army marched into Czechoslovakia, a young Czech army captain joined the Resistance. But he had a secret no one knew..until now. In March 1939, Hitler’s army marched into Prague, Czechoslovakia. Jan Bodon, a young captain in the Czech Army – who also happen to be blond-haired, blue-eyed and fluent in German – was “asked” to join the Nazis. He promptly fled and joined the Czech Resistance Movement instead and was selected to help in the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the “Butcher of Prague.” In this powerful documentary directed by Jan’s son, Jean Bodon uncovers the truth not only about Jan’s wartime experiences, but also discovers that his father was secretly a Jew in a country which underwent one of the largest extermination campaigns of the war. The assassination led to the Lidice massacre…an escape goat….In Illinois we remember this each May/June at the Lidice Commemorative Park in Crest Hill, a sister city.
Sokol Spirit’s Education Committee reserves the right to change movies due to circumstances beyond their control.
DO NOT FORGET WORLD BEER CLUB
follows in the building’s lower level starting at 8pm!
Sponsor: Foreign Language Committee of Sokol Spirit education@sokolspirit.org
Sokol Spirit is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization.