Burning Bush

Agnieszka Holland did not resist her emotions and her involvement became the biggest obstacle to the entire topic. The worst thing is the interweaving of real documents and endless shots of Táňa Pauhofová absorbing various chapters of history. ___ Burning Bush is actually not about Palach, but a female film by a director about the superwoman Dagmar Burešová, who despite a very demanding and crucial role in the Palach case has no problem defending the interests of the Palach family, as well as raising two little girls obligated to attend kindergarten, being a perfect wife and moral citizen. She is charming in every situation, her make-up never disappoints, her hairstyle stays in place and if she gets hit by a cobblestone during a protest, she is even more beautiful than in the courtroom. Pauhofová's perfect interpretation does not allow a single human dimension in the character of this infallible lawyer, who even though destroyed her husband's career and only gave Palach a certain hope, everything was forgiven, simply because she decided to stand on the right side of the barricade. (02/17/2014)

By the end, I was fidgeting a bit, but that was due to the movie theatre seat - otherwise I can say almost without exaggeration that I watched the film version of Burning Bush without moving for almost three and a quarter hours. That's how haunting I found this extraordinary work, and still do a day later. Of course, seeing the series version, pretty much one episode at a time, maybe (and that’s a big maybe) some of the flaws would show up, because perhaps I would have time to notice them. But this way the film didn't give me a single pretext. The actors, the script, direction, set design... Everything at a very high level. The first third was the best, but the rest was definitely not a disgrace to the film. I give it five of the purest stars. (11/14/2013)

Burning Bush is an absolutely perfect work of art and I would love to express my gratitude to the Polish director Mrs. Holland. I would also like to thank HBO for being bold enough to pour so much money into such an important premise, to have the Palach story made into a movie. My thanks also go out to the actors, who showed everybody what good actors they are, and the screenwriter for writing such a good and well-rounded story about Jan Palach. I really have no words to say. Burning Bush is such a demanding and depressing story that all the time it was being told on my screen, I had an unpleasant feeling, I felt sick and sad. I really felt something I seldom feel when watching a movie. It wasn’t only because this movie is about the history of my country, but mainly because it is absolutely amazing cinematography, which shouldn’t be overlooked under any circumstances. The best thing about it is the way they work with emotions – they got my nerves going as well as the nerves of the actors who were working on the movie. The initial outburst of an effort to change things was all of the sudden replaced with fear and hopelessness. This heavy blanket fell on an entire generation until in 1989 the new generation had their voices heard, who were not affected by the 1960’s, and who did away with the communist swine once and for all. By the way, don’t try to tell me that today’s communists are different people. If they were completely different people, they couldn’t be wiping their asses with Palach’s legacy on the anniversary of his death, saying he was a leftist. If there is anybody who should rot in hell, it’s Grebeníček, Filip and all them commie sons-of-bitches, who keep using a sickle and hammer as a logo for their leftist party. My only hope is that people won’t be so stupid again and that they won’t get riled up with political speeches. It was enough they failed at the presidential election, which took a bit of my hope again. Nevertheless, as they say, hope dies last, and the plot of Burning Bush sticks to this credo. And the plot won’t let me sleep for as long as I live. (02/11/2013)

Here the Lord's messenger appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a thorn bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. [Exodus, 3.2] The masterful dramatization of events, the echoes of which still haunt us today. Štěpán Hulík chose the most difficult path, examining Palach's act from several angles. He seamlessly transitions from personal testimony to a conspiracy thriller and then to a legal drama, with each having its firmly anchored place in the plot. The way director Agnieszka Holland observes the whole situation is admirable because instead of serving a cheap epitaph of an extreme act, she offers an analytical probe into the era, which primarily calls the nation's conscience into question, a nation known for its very short memory. A multitude of excellent actors (I personally salute Jaroslava Pokorná), a multimillion-dollar budget squeezed to the last drop, and a cinematic event that reminds us that not all films are meant only to entertain us. I can't remember the last time something resonated so strongly within me. (01/13/2014)

About Jan Palach’s deed. To achieve appropriate detachment from Palach’s deed in literary terms, we needed the view from outside of the Polish writer, Mariusz Szczygieł. And to achieve detachment in terms of cinema, we need the view from outside of the Polish director, Agnieszka Holland. And when we need... That’s partially true, but apart from the director it is a Czech film and finally thanks to Hulík we can say that we are now able to come to terms with historical skeletons in our closet (and we have lots of those!) like many, mainly the Germans, have been doing over the past years. No, it’s not quite filmed in a completely detached style, but her and there a little dose of pathos and pigeonholing characters works just fine; especially since they have time for this only in episode one where it is understandable. Unarguably the most important documentaries to have emerged in recent years and maybe not the very best (even though after the third “Normalization" episode I thought it probably was), but even so, full of powerful “unobtrusive" scenes and details which we certainly don’t see every day. P.S.: I’m glad that at last someone found the courage to give the powerhouse of the Theater in Dlouhá and one of the most talented actresses of her generation, Jaroslava Pokorná more than one line in a movie; and about time too. (01/28/2013)