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Facets pairs two stunning dramas that depict life under Stalinist rule: Shot during the Prague Spring of 1968, The Joke (Jaromil Jires, Czechoslovakia, 1968, 80 mins.) is a dark and ironic film based on a novel by Milan Kundera (The Unbearable Lightness of Being) and co-scripted by the author. After ending a postcard with a humorous reference to Trotsky, a young man is sentenced to years of hard labor for his joke. Upon his release, he sets out to take revenge by seducing the wife of the Communist Party official who turned him in. The film and book were subsequently banned in Czechoslovakia. Author and critic Amos Vogel called this film "possibly the most shattering indictment of totalitarianism to come out of a communist country...a chilling examination of a corrupt society." In Czech with English subtitles. In The Shoe (Laila Pakalnina, Latvia, 1998, 78 mins.), Soviet tractors comb the coast of Latvia nightly looking for signs of anyone who could have infiltrated the Soviet border from the sea. One morning, three Soviet patrolmen discover a woman's shoe in the sand and footsteps leading to the quaint little village of Liepaja. Alarms sound, troops are dispatched, and an official investigation begins. Just like Cinderella, each woman in the village tries on the shoe, though the reward for a perfect fit won't be Prince Charming. Laila Pakalnina's sly fairy tale combines subtle humor and political commentary into a compelling whole, shot beautifully in black and white. In Latvian with English subtitles.
- Facets Video
- Release date: 06/22/2010
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