Daily Archives: July 3, 2020

1969 Recap and Favorites List

Posted on July 3, 2020 | 11 comments

I have now watched 48 films that were released in 1969.  1969 began March 14, a few days before California locked down, and ends as California has become a “hot spot” after doing so well.

A complete list of the films I saw can be found here. My favorites are listed in alphabetical order.  I did not list Louis Malle’s excellent Phantom India series of documentaries, which was made for television.  From the List, I could not find Lucia and I did not feel a need to re-watch Fellini’s Satyricon which I didn’t like much back in the day.

All My Good Countrymen – Directed by Vojtech Jasny

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – Directed by George Roy Hill

The Color of Pomegranates (Sayat Nova) – Directed by Sergei Parajanov

The Cremator (Spalovac mrtvol) – Directed by Juraj Herz

Double Suicide (Shinju: Ten no Amijima) – Directed by Masahiro Shinoda

Kes – Directed by Ken Loach

Midnight Cowboy – Directed by John Schlesinger

My Night at Maud’s (Ma nuit chez Maud) – Directed by Eric Rohmer

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Directed by Ronald Neame

Salesman – Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? – Directed by Sydney Pollack

Z – Directed by Costa-Gavras

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Posted in 1969, Top Ten Lists

All My Good Countrymen (1969)

Posted on July 3, 2020 | Leave a comment

All My Good Countrymen (Vsichni dobrí rodáci)
Directed by Vojtech Jasny
Written by Vojtech Jasny
1969/Czechoslovakia
IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel

 

“The moon does not care if the dog barks at it.”  — Czech proverb

This film, perhaps the last of the Czech New Wave, mixes savage political commentary, black comedy, and poetic imagery.

The story follows life in a rural Czech village from 1948-68.  The villagers’ customs and manual farming methods could have been used in any of the last three hundred years.  Their peace, so recently broken by the Nazis, is now blasted by a growing communist movement.  Finally, most farmers and small entrepreneurs are collectivized out of existence.  Thugs use threats to gain Party loyalty.  Rebels disappear suddenly.

We get some black comedy in a plot thread that follows a young “Merry Widow” as each of her many boyfriends and husbands meet with sudden accidents and worse.  We also get plenty of absolutely lyrical scenes in the fields and within the village.

This was a pleasure to watch and a nice way to end my viewing of 1969.  Recommended.

Clip – no subtitles

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Posted in 1969