Joseph Kilian (Czech: Postava k podpírání), also known as Josef Kilián, is a 1963 short Czech drama film directed by Pavel Juráček and Jan Schmidt. It was released in 1964. The movie belongs to the Czech New Wave.[1][2]

Joseph Kilian
Directed byPavel Juráček
Jan Schmidt
Written byPavel Juráček
Jan Schmidt
StarringKarel Vašíček
CinematographyJan Čuřík
Music byViliam Bukový
Production
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Distributed byÚstřední půjčovna filmů
Release date
  • 4 September 1964 (1964-09-04)
Running time
38 minutes
CountryCzechoslovakia
LanguageCzech

Plot

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Jan Herold is trying to find comrade Kilian, but no one ever heard of him. He wanders the streets of Prague when he suddenly sees a "Cat rental company". He decides to rent a cat and goes home. When he comes back the next day to return the cat, the company is gone and there's no evidence it ever existed. He then continues to search for the mysterious Killian. When he finally finds his office, it is empty. He goes to a pub and sees a man who looks a lot like Killian, but when he asks him, the man denies it and leaves in a hurry. Before losing him Jan can see the man is carrying a cat.

Cast

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Reception

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The film was well-received by international film critics. Many reviewers favourably compared the film to Kafka's work. Czechoslovak communist critics attacked the film on ideological basis. [3] [4] [5]

Release

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The film premiered on 4 September 1964 in Czechoslovakia. First DVD release was by Second Run in 2013 on a disc with František Vláčil's The White Dove.[6] The film was digitally restored in 4K by Czech Film Archive and re-released in cinemas on 3 March 2016. The restored version was released together with Case for a Rookie Hangman on DVD and Blu-ray on 26 April 2017.

Awards

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Bibliography

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  • Andrea Schnapková; Zdeněk Hudec (2017). Postava k podpírání. Praha: Casablanca.
  • Hames, Peter (2010). Czech and Slovak Cinema. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0748620821.
  • Škvorecký, Josef (1975). All the Bright Young Men and Women: A Personal History of the Czech Cinema. Toronto: Peter Martin Assoc. ISBN 9780887781100.
  • Hames, Peter (2013). Introduction to Jonathan L. Owen's Avant-garde to New Wave (PDF). Berghahn Books.

References

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  1. ^ "Postava k podpírání (1963)". Czech and Slovak Film Database. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Postava k podpírání (1963)". Filmový přehled (in Czech). Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Franz Kafka in the period reception of the film Joseph Kilian". Filmový přehled.
  4. ^ "Na hřbetě velryby – Pavel Juráček v československém tisku". Filmový přehled (in Czech).
  5. ^ "Joseph Kilián (Pavel Juráček & Jan Schmidt, 1963)". Sense of cinema.
  6. ^ "Second Run DVD - The White Dove, Josef Kilian".
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