Rok ďábla
Directed by:
Petr ZelenkaScreenplay:
Petr ZelenkaCinematography:
Miro GáborCast:
Jaromír Nohavica, František Černý, Jan Prent, Václav Glazar, Jan Tříska, Jan P. Muchow, Jan Hřebejk, Saša Gedeon, David Černý, Karel Plíhal, Jaz Coleman (more)Plots(1)
In Year of the Devil a Czech folk star, a band of funeral musicians, and a Dutch filmmaker stumble towards enlightenment on a remarkable musical tour. Writer/director Petr Zelenka fuses fact and fiction in a music-filled, magical adventure that has ghosts and guardian angels helping people hear the melodies within them. When the folk star approaches the band asking them to perform with him, he thinks they will help cure his friend Karel Plíhal. They think he will help them become famous, and the filmmaker thinks he has found a subject for a film. Naturally they are all right, but all of them get more than they bargained for. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Videos (1)
Reviews (3)
In the end, I'll give it 3 stars, but just barely. I expected that Year of the Devil would have a much stronger and more compact impact. Especially because I had a good experience with Zelenka's mystifying quasi-documentary Happy End in the past. I'm thinking about what disturbs me so much and it's probably the celebrity dimension of the film. Nohavica, Plíhal, and the band Čechomor are essentially playing themselves and there are a number of Nohavica's actual songs in there. The film is actually relying on Nohavica's popularity and stealing his real lyrics. A good mystification utilizes some popular phenomenon, but it's not literal. I consider the British film The Rutles to be a very good example, as it made fun of Beatlemania. Year of the Devil does have funny moments and entertaining scenes, but I lost interest in the film during several passages. And to return to the celebrity aspect of the film, it's quite characteristic that Jan Hřebejk or Saša Gedeon appear in the credits, even though they only appeared for a few seconds as themselves. Nohavica also had a somewhat disturbing effect on me, as he suits the role of an "actor" much worse than the guys from Čechomor. Overall impression: 50%.
()
Before seeing Year of the Devil, I had no idea who Jarek Nohavica was. I was slightly confused after the end of the film but, at the same time, I found that a certain fluid mysteriousness and magic of personality had been created around Nohavica. And still today, I can’t wait to get the opportunity someday to interview him, for example. Whatever he may actually be, I will never be able to see him again separate from the feelings that this fine film evoked in me with regard to him.
()
Wonderful mystification, in which a great amount of work is done by the music and sensitivity with which Zelenka plays out real characters in a fictional game full of great jokes and impressive poetics. Plíhal as a silent angel, Nohavica as an uncommunicative guru, and Čechomor as boys on the rise. When viewed from a distance, in some parts one might think that Zelenka is quite the clairvoyant prophet. He’s simply good at working with this genre.
()
Ads