TGM the Liberator

Made in commemoration of the 140th birth anniversary of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia, this compilation film emerged during the turbulent period of political and societal change following the November 1989 revolution. The post-November era saw the return of certain values and topics to national consciousness and political discourse, specifically those which Communist officials and historians had expurgated as objectionable, as well as figures previously labelled as agents of the bourgeoisie or “capitalist lackeys”. This portrait of Masaryk is composed of copious amounts of archival footage and photographs, along with restless, rhythmically edited b-roll footage à la Chytilová’s documentary Prague: The Restless Heart of Europe (1984). The soundtrack consists of Masaryk’s notes and reflections, read by Czech actor Miroslav Macháček, harmoniously complemented by Bedřich Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1, “From My Life”, all of which strengthens the autobiographical cohesion of this extraordinary documentary. (Art Film Fest)