DU COURAGE POUR CHAQUE JOUR

English description

English title: COURAGE FOR EVERY DAY Original title: KAZDY DEN ODVAHU Directed by : Evald Schorm With : Jana Brejchova, Jan Kacer, Josef Abrham, Vlastimil Brodsky Czech Republic, 1964, PAL, DVD 9, 4/3, 89 mn, zone 2, black and white, mono Original version with French subtiles A young worker bores his friends with his socialist dogma when he feels they are not living up to the ideals of the utopian socialist dream. His girlfriend becomes concerned when he tries to force friends to attend archaic lectures on the virtues of communism and when his fanaticism begins to affect their relationship. Eventually, he leaves her to get drunk at a local bar where he is beaten up by irate patrons who quickly tire of his inconsequential political ravings COURAGE FOR EVERY DAY is a beautiful film made of great poetic restraint about a young man living in Prague before the collapse of communism. It is belonging to the school of realism which marked the Czech films of the sixties. Is director, Evald Schorm, was famous for his refusal to compromise the subject matter or the style of his films with the regime which controlled the film studios. An admirer of the films by the British director Lindsay Anderson, COURAGE FOR EVERY DAY has similarities with THIS SPORTING LIFE, its hero striving to escape the repressive forces of a society against which he rebels, but which ultimately demoralizes him and undermines his personal relationships. It won in 1965 the best price at the International Film Festival. The film has been one of the most moving and lyrical films to emerge from the Czech school. Schorm had to become a construction worker, but in 1956 he was finally accepted at FAMU in Prague (the Film and TV School of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague). He graduated in Film direction in 1963, with other future members of the Czech New Wave. He began his career at the Studio of the Documentary Film with the cameraman Jan Jan Špáta. They created together many short films and documentaries with a strong humanistic and emotional content, in close and longlasting collaboration. In 1964, Schorm directed his first full-length film, COURAGE FOR EVERY DAY which dealt with the dillusionment of individuals victimized in the name of false ideals. He explored the ethical principles of human behavior in films such as the psychological drama RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON (1966). He also acted minor roles in films made by his friends. During 1970s and 1980s he was regarded as too "politically undesirable" to be involved in Czech filmmaking, and therefore concentrated more on stage direction. He was involved with many Prague companies, such as "Činoherní klub", "Studio Ypsilon", "Theatre on the Balustrade", "Semafor", "Laterna Magika", and the "National Theatre" as well as with theatres in Brno, Olomouc, Cheb and Gottwaldov. Schorm was also a notable opera director, and directed opera performances in Prague (Fidelio in Smetana Theatre), Geneva and Stuttgart. From 1982 he was engaged by the Prague theatre "Laterna Magika". From 1964 to 1970 he taught at FAMU in Prague. In 1988, shortly before his death, he directed his last film KILLING WITH KINDNESS. In 1992 he was posthumously awarded with Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Bonus : chapitering - booklet 24 pages : interview of E. Schorm by A. Liehm · interviews with Evald Schorm (1967) Locarno International Film Festival Award 1966