Directed by Věra Chytilová • 1970 • Czechoslovakia
Starring Jitka Nováková, Karel Novak, Jan Schmid
Opening with a senses-ravishing, psychedelic vision of Eden, this tantalizing political allegory sets the story of Adam and Eve in a European health spa where a vacationing couple (Jitka Nováková and Karel Novak) find themselves under the spell of a menacing stranger (Jan Schmid). A triumph of avant-garde provocation, FRUIT OF PARADISE would prove to be Věra Chytilová’s last film before the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia effectively quashed her career for the next seven years.
Up Next in Ester Krumbachová: Phantom of the Czechoslovak New Wave
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Witchhammer
Directed by Otakar Vávra • 1970 • Czechoslovakia
Starring Vladimír Šmeral, Elo Romančík, Josef KemrCowritten by Ester Krumbachová and director Otakar Vávra, this unsettling parable uses seventeenth-century religious hysteria as a potent allegory for the repressive political climate of Soviet-oc...
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Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
Directed by Jaromil Jireš • 1970 • Czechoslovakia
Starring Jaroslava Schallerová, Helena Anyžová, Petr KoprivaA girl on the verge of womanhood finds herself in a sensual fantasyland of vampires, witchcraft, and other threats in this eerie and mystical movie daydream. VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WON...
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Naughty Young People: Chytilová, Kuče...
This 2012 documentary by Daniel Bird describes the extraordinary collaboration among three artists at the height of their powers: director Věra Chytilová, cinematographer Jaroslav Kučera, and screenwriter Ester Krumbachová.
