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{{Infobox film {{Infobox film
| name = The Joke | name = The Joke
| image = The Joke video box.jpg | image = The_Joke_Poster.jpg
| image_size =
| border =
| alt = | alt =
| caption = | caption =
| director = ] | director = ]
| producer = ] | producer = Miloš Stejskal
| writer = | writer =
| screenplay = Jaromil Jires and ] | screenplay = Jaromil Jireš<br>]
| story = | story =
| based on = {{based on|'']''|Milan Kundera}} | based_on = {{based on|'']''|Milan Kundera}}
| narrator = | narrator =
| starring = ], ], ] | starring = ]<br>]<br>]
| music = ] | music = ]
| cinematography = ] | cinematography = ]
| editing = ] | editing = Josef Valušiak
| studio = | studio =
| distributor = | distributor =
| released = <!-- {{Film date|Year|Month|Day|Location}} --> | released = <!-- {{Film date|Year|Month|Day|Location}} -->
| runtime = 81 min | runtime = 81 minutes
| country = Czechoslovakia | country = Czechoslovakia
| language = Czech | language = Czech
Line 27: Line 27:
}} }}


'''''The Joke''''' ({{lang-cs|'''Zert'''}}) is a 1969 Czechoslovakian film by director ]. It is considered one of the last films of the ] movement.<ref name=C /> '''''The Joke''''' ({{langx|cs|'''Žert'''}}) is a 1969 Czechoslovak film by director ]. It is considered one of the last films of the ] movement.<ref name=C />


Based on ]'s ], ''The Joke'' tells the story of Ludvik Jahn, a man expelled from the ] for an idle joke to his girlfriend, and the revenge he later seeks through adultery. The film was produced during the political liberalization of the 1968 ] and contains many scenes which satirize and criticize the country's communist leadership. ] wrote that the film was "possibly the most shattering indictment of totalitarianism to come out of a Communist country".<ref name=CC>{{cite web |url=http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2269-eclipse-series-32-pearls-of-the-czech-new-wave |title=Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave |author=Michael Koresky |publisher=The Criterion Collection |archivedate=28 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6BmB39cdd |accessdate=28 October 2012|deadurl=no}}</ref> Based on ]'s 1967 ], ''The Joke'' tells the story of Ludvík Jahn, a man expelled from the ] for an idle joke to his girlfriend, and the revenge he later seeks through adultery. The film was produced during the political liberalization of the 1968 ] and contains many scenes which satirize and criticize the country's communist leadership. ] wrote that the film was "possibly the most shattering indictment of totalitarianism to come out of a Communist country".<ref name=CC>{{cite web |url=http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2269-eclipse-series-32-pearls-of-the-czech-new-wave |title=Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave |author=Michael Koresky |publisher=The Criterion Collection |archive-date=24 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024071620/http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2269-eclipse-series-32-pearls-of-the-czech-new-wave |access-date=28 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>


== Plot == ==Plot==
The scientist Ludvik Jahn returns to his hometown after two decades away. He is interviewed by Helena, an attractive older woman whom he begins to seduce. Jahn then discovers Helena is married to Pavel, an old rival. The scientist Ludvík Jahn returns to his hometown after two decades away. He is interviewed by Helena, an attractive older woman whom he begins to seduce. Jahn then discovers Helena is married to Pavel, an old rival.


Jahn flashes back to his college days and his love for Marketa, a devout believer in communism. In an attempt to make the humorless Marketa lighten up, Jahn sends her a postcard reading "Optimism is the opium of mankind. A 'healthy spirit' stinks of stupidity. Long live Trotsky! Yours, Ludvik". Marketa turns the postcard over to the Party, however, and Jahn is brought before a party hearing to answer for his words. Pavel, a friend who had pledged to help him, calls in the meeting for Jahn's expulsion from the college and the Communist Party, and Marketa joins the vote against him. Jahn flashes back to his college days and his love for Markéta, a devout believer in communism. In an attempt to make the humorless Markéta lighten up, Jahn sends her a postcard reading "Optimism is the opium of mankind. A 'healthy spirit' stinks of stupidity. Long live Trotsky! Yours, Ludvík". Markéta turns the postcard over to the Party, however, and Jahn is brought before a Party hearing to answer for his words. Pavel, a friend who had pledged to help him, calls in the meeting for Jahn's expulsion from the college and the Communist Party, and Markéta joins the vote against him.


Jahn then undergoes six years of "reeducation", which are split between prison, mining, and army service under a sadistic drill sergeant. While in the army, a true believer of communism in his unit appeals to higher authorities against their treatment; when the man is consequently expelled from the Party, he commits suicide. Jahn then undergoes six years of "reeducation", which are split between prison and army service in a ] under a sadistic drill sergeant. While in the army, Alexej, a true believer in communism, appeals to higher authorities against their treatment; when the man is consequently expelled from the Party, he commits suicide.


In the present, Jahn successfully seduces Helena, motivated more from a desire for revenge on Pavel than attraction to her. Though Helena falls in love with him, he discovers that she and Pavel have long been estranged, and Pavel has a new lover of his own. In the present, Jahn successfully seduces Helena, motivated more by a desire for revenge on Pavel than attraction to her. Though Helena falls in love with him, he discovers that she and Pavel have long been estranged, and Pavel has a new lover of his own. The only person hurt by Jahn's attempt at revenge is Helena.


== Reception == ==Cast==
* ] as Ludvík Jahn
⚫ ''The Joke'' was released in 1969, some months after the August 1968 ] had put an end to the freedoms of the Prague Spring. Though a success in theaters, authorities banned it for the next twenty years, making it "one of the New Wave’s most renowned casualties".<ref name=CC/>
* ] as Reporter Helena Zemánková
* ] as Pavel Zemánek
* ] as Markéta Pospíšilová
* ] as Laboratory assistant Kostka
* Věra Křesadlová as Věra Brožová, Zemánek's girlfriend
* ] as Commander
* Michal Pavlata as Technician Jindra Tkadlečka


==Production==
⚫ The film was released on VHS in 2002 by ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-joke-v141296/releases |title=The Joke (1969) |publisher=allmovie.com |archivedate=29 October 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6BmqAV8u5 |accessdate=29 October 2012|deadurl=no}}</ref> and on DVD in 2012 by the ]'s ] line.<ref name=CC/>
The character Pavel Zemánek was inspired by ]. Jireš wanted to cast him in the movie, but eventually decided to cast a professional actor ]. In the role of prisoner Alexej, Jireš cast a pastor and later ] spokesman Miloš Rejchrt. The film was shot in ], ], ], ] and ].


==Reception==
⚫ Criterion essayist Michael Koresky described the film as regarded as "the definitive take on the Stalinist era in Czechoslovakia".<ref name=CC/> '']'' stated that ''The Joke'' was "a modest, quiet film" that was "permeated with irony", though its ironic juxtapositions were occasionally heavy-handed, such as cutting between a group singing the revolutionary song "No More Masters" and Jahn and other prisoners breaking rocks in a quarry.<ref name=C>{{cite journal |author=Leonard Quart |year= |title=''The Joke'' |journal=Cineaste |volume=Fall 2003 |pages=60–1 |accessdate=26 October 2012}}</ref>
⚫ ''The Joke'' was released in 1969, some months after the August 1968 ] had put an end to the freedoms of the Prague Spring. Though it was a success in theaters, authorities banned it for the next twenty years, making it "one of the New Wave's most renowned casualties".<ref name=CC/>


⚫ The film was released on VHS in 2002 by ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-joke-v141296/releases |title=The Joke (1969) |publisher=allmovie.com |archive-date=26 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026085815/https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-joke-v141296/releases |access-date=29 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> and on DVD in 2012 by the ]'s ] line.<ref name=CC/>
⚫ == References ==

⚫ Criterion essayist Michael Koresky described the film as "the definitive take on the Stalinist era in Czechoslovakia".<ref name=CC/> '']'' stated that ''The Joke'' was "a modest, quiet film" that was "permeated with irony", though its ironic juxtapositions were occasionally heavy-handed, such as cutting between a group singing the revolutionary song "No More Masters" and Jahn and other prisoners breaking rocks in a quarry.<ref name=C>{{cite journal |author=Leonard Quart |title=''The Joke'' |journal=Cineaste |volume=Fall 2003 |pages=60–1}}</ref>

⚫ ==References==
{{Reflist}} {{Reflist}}


== External links == ==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0065241|title=The Joke}} * {{IMDb title|id=0065241|title=The Joke}}

* {{AllRovi movie|141296|The Joke}}
{{Jaromil Jireš}}
{{Milan Kundera}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Joke (film), The}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Joke (film), The}}
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Latest revision as of 09:55, 22 December 2024

Czechoslovakia film
The Joke
Directed byJaromil Jireš
Screenplay byJaromil Jireš
Milan Kundera
Based onThe Joke
by Milan Kundera
Produced byMiloš Stejskal
StarringJosef Somr
Jana Dítětová
Luděk Munzar
CinematographyJan Čuřík
Edited byJosef Valušiak
Music byZdeněk Pololáník
Running time81 minutes
CountryCzechoslovakia
LanguageCzech

The Joke (Czech: Žert) is a 1969 Czechoslovak film by director Jaromil Jireš. It is considered one of the last films of the Czech New Wave movement.

Based on Milan Kundera's 1967 novel of the same name, The Joke tells the story of Ludvík Jahn, a man expelled from the Czechoslovak Communist Party for an idle joke to his girlfriend, and the revenge he later seeks through adultery. The film was produced during the political liberalization of the 1968 Prague Spring and contains many scenes which satirize and criticize the country's communist leadership. Amos Vogel wrote that the film was "possibly the most shattering indictment of totalitarianism to come out of a Communist country".

Plot

The scientist Ludvík Jahn returns to his hometown after two decades away. He is interviewed by Helena, an attractive older woman whom he begins to seduce. Jahn then discovers Helena is married to Pavel, an old rival.

Jahn flashes back to his college days and his love for Markéta, a devout believer in communism. In an attempt to make the humorless Markéta lighten up, Jahn sends her a postcard reading "Optimism is the opium of mankind. A 'healthy spirit' stinks of stupidity. Long live Trotsky! Yours, Ludvík". Markéta turns the postcard over to the Party, however, and Jahn is brought before a Party hearing to answer for his words. Pavel, a friend who had pledged to help him, calls in the meeting for Jahn's expulsion from the college and the Communist Party, and Markéta joins the vote against him.

Jahn then undergoes six years of "reeducation", which are split between prison and army service in a technical auxiliary battalion under a sadistic drill sergeant. While in the army, Alexej, a true believer in communism, appeals to higher authorities against their treatment; when the man is consequently expelled from the Party, he commits suicide.

In the present, Jahn successfully seduces Helena, motivated more by a desire for revenge on Pavel than attraction to her. Though Helena falls in love with him, he discovers that she and Pavel have long been estranged, and Pavel has a new lover of his own. The only person hurt by Jahn's attempt at revenge is Helena.

Cast

Production

The character Pavel Zemánek was inspired by Pavel Kohout. Jireš wanted to cast him in the movie, but eventually decided to cast a professional actor Luděk Munzar. In the role of prisoner Alexej, Jireš cast a pastor and later Charter 77 spokesman Miloš Rejchrt. The film was shot in Prague, Uherské Hradiště, Olomouc, Most and Vlčnov.

Reception

The Joke was released in 1969, some months after the August 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia had put an end to the freedoms of the Prague Spring. Though it was a success in theaters, authorities banned it for the next twenty years, making it "one of the New Wave's most renowned casualties".

The film was released on VHS in 2002 by Facets Video and on DVD in 2012 by the Criterion Collection's Eclipse line.

Criterion essayist Michael Koresky described the film as "the definitive take on the Stalinist era in Czechoslovakia". Cineaste stated that The Joke was "a modest, quiet film" that was "permeated with irony", though its ironic juxtapositions were occasionally heavy-handed, such as cutting between a group singing the revolutionary song "No More Masters" and Jahn and other prisoners breaking rocks in a quarry.

References

  1. ^ Leonard Quart. "The Joke". Cineaste. Fall 2003: 60–1.
  2. ^ Michael Koresky. "Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave". The Criterion Collection. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  3. "The Joke (1969)". allmovie.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2012.

External links

Films directed by Jaromil Jireš
Works by Milan Kundera
Novels
Non-fiction
Plays
Adaptations
Categories: