Juraj Herz followed his most famous film, the black comedy "The Cremator", with this fine period piece, set in a charming little Bohemian town in 1900. Iva Janzurova plays Stepha, the spoiled 30 year old daughter of a rich merchant. She's initially rather irritating, being too old to be so silly and giggly. Stepha, though, wants to marry and have children. Her mother persuades her to reject one suitor, a teacher we never see, because he's too poor, and prefers the prospects of a middle-aged tax man. Stepha wisely rejects him, as he's a pompous, self-righteous bore.
When she was a girl Stepha used to play with her two cousins on their father's farm. One of them has grown into a stolid, bitter farmer, but the other (Pavel, played by Petr Cepek) cuts a fine dash in his uniform as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army. One day, with little preamble, he proposes, and makes no attempt to hide that her father's wealth is a factor. He has run up big gambling debts, which his father has paid, and the farm is in financial trouble, Very unwisely Stepha accepts, and they marry. Unfortunately Pavel has a worse fault than his drinking and gambling: his womanising has given him syphilis, and he has married Stepha knowing he won't last long. At least he has the decency not to consummate the marriage and infect her, and the film charts his descent into paralysis and madness.
"Oil Lamps" becomes very moving as we see Stepha's dreams crumble, and she retreats from the world. The acting is first-rate, and so are the direction, photography, music and period reconstruction. I got the DVD in an excellent print from Movie Detective, and I can strongly recommend this rare work.
When she was a girl Stepha used to play with her two cousins on their father's farm. One of them has grown into a stolid, bitter farmer, but the other (Pavel, played by Petr Cepek) cuts a fine dash in his uniform as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army. One day, with little preamble, he proposes, and makes no attempt to hide that her father's wealth is a factor. He has run up big gambling debts, which his father has paid, and the farm is in financial trouble, Very unwisely Stepha accepts, and they marry. Unfortunately Pavel has a worse fault than his drinking and gambling: his womanising has given him syphilis, and he has married Stepha knowing he won't last long. At least he has the decency not to consummate the marriage and infect her, and the film charts his descent into paralysis and madness.
"Oil Lamps" becomes very moving as we see Stepha's dreams crumble, and she retreats from the world. The acting is first-rate, and so are the direction, photography, music and period reconstruction. I got the DVD in an excellent print from Movie Detective, and I can strongly recommend this rare work.
