Marketa Lazarová (1967)

IMDb Listing
I’m not going to lie – even though this has been called one of the great (if not the greatest) Czech films of all time, I had a difficult time with it. It’s about a skirmish between two clans in medieval times, one of which has converted to Christianity and the other of which is said to have descended from werewolves … obviously still pagan. It’s a visually striking film, shot in widescreen black and white and filled with stark landscapes and seemingly authentic medieval locations. But the narrative was extremely difficult for me to follow, even though each chapter of the film is preceeded by a title card explaining what we’re about to see. I feel like an idiot writing that, but it’s true, and I overheard several other people at the screening mentioning the same thing. Among other problems, the dialogue is very poorly dubbed (few foreign films at the time had sound recorded on set, and it was added later in postproduction), and it’s very difficult at times to know who’s talking. Mostly, though, it’s simply a film that requires very close attention due to its fragmented storytelling style. I can’t hold that against it, but at the same time, it’s hard for me to be enthusiastic even though I’m glad I saw it. Maybe future viewings, if I get the chance, will be more rewarding. 7/10