Customer Reviews

Intimate Lighting [VHS]

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During the sixties, before the Russian brutal invasion, the first "Velvet Revolution" in Czechoslovakia manifested itself, among other areas, in a creative new freedom in filmmaking; the films that emerged from that period stand up to the best of Italian Neo-Realism or the French New Wave.

Ivan Passer was Milos Forman's writing partner and his exquisite humor and story telling savoir made itself felt in Forman's early Czech comedies. Then Mr. Passer made his own masterpeice, Intimate Lighting, about the quixotic dreams of two musician friends, one who left their small hometown to become"successful", the other still a music teacher and part of the hometown's chamber music quartet. Intimate Lighting vibrates with pathos and comedy; with a compassionate and ironic eye Passer shines a poetic light on our illusions and small victories. To highlight: a magnificently humorous scene where the diners covetously gawk at the last piece of chicken left on the table, and a drunken twist at the end on the "off into the sunset" scene. A must see for anyone who appreciates fine filmmaking, a good comedy, or wishes to take a peek in the window of a time tragically lost.

A great and brilliantly subtle film. This is a turbulent and complex essay on local vs elite culture, on urban vs rural life styles, on utopian ideals vs difficult realities. It was made in the sixties as the satellite countries began to push for atonomy from a bureaucratic and repressive soviet system.

But it speaks to everyone in its portrayal of the role of art and beauty in the lives of common people.
DeeDee Halleck