Marketa Lazarová left me with mixed feelings, although I believe negative impressions were more significant right after the experience. The chaotic and, for me, unsystematic imagery and camera movement made me uncomfortable, however, as the story's grim and dark tone elucidate the visuals, I had to admit that these concerns of mine assist the intentions Mr. Vlacil had in mind after all. On the other hand, the depiction of Kozlik and his men, which was mine primary objection against the imagery, was a bit frugal and uninteresting. The barbaric and primitive behavior as well as their appearance was for me too poorly written and depicted in a sense that I could not really distinguish those people. Consequently, nor Mikolás' nor Alexandra's character could grab my attention or at least create an emotional thread, thus I felt no catharsis whatsoever.
What I need to highlight when I talk about my concerns, are the stereotypical and unnecessary tools by which medieval world was expressed. The Gregorian chants were, in my opinion, overused and unfortunately unpleasant to listen to. The beastly manner and sexuality is on one hand well-founded, on the other, it is needlessly stressful and visually obnoxious - this prudery might seem too conservative and casuistic, still I believe some acts should not be depicted on film.
The passion and unfortunate fate Marketa had to face also seemed, if I may, boring since her identity and characteristics were hidden throughout the film - this might not be a crucial problem, only I did not feel anything towards her and thus, as mentioned, I did not really felt anything at all after the film has ended.
Shift from paganism to Christianity was well-depicted and the presence of mythical and prelogical thinking, as Lévy-Bruhl puts, was equally dominant in both the pagan and medieval souls - the siege scene expresses this perfectly which is why this might be my favorite moment. Radical and extreme thinking is also a mentionable aspect which I felt in every dialogue as well as in the grotesque and uneasy score. The spectacular and unforgettable shots were probably the reason why I concluded that I liked Marketa Lazarová at last.
What I need to highlight when I talk about my concerns, are the stereotypical and unnecessary tools by which medieval world was expressed. The Gregorian chants were, in my opinion, overused and unfortunately unpleasant to listen to. The beastly manner and sexuality is on one hand well-founded, on the other, it is needlessly stressful and visually obnoxious - this prudery might seem too conservative and casuistic, still I believe some acts should not be depicted on film.
The passion and unfortunate fate Marketa had to face also seemed, if I may, boring since her identity and characteristics were hidden throughout the film - this might not be a crucial problem, only I did not feel anything towards her and thus, as mentioned, I did not really felt anything at all after the film has ended.
Shift from paganism to Christianity was well-depicted and the presence of mythical and prelogical thinking, as Lévy-Bruhl puts, was equally dominant in both the pagan and medieval souls - the siege scene expresses this perfectly which is why this might be my favorite moment. Radical and extreme thinking is also a mentionable aspect which I felt in every dialogue as well as in the grotesque and uneasy score. The spectacular and unforgettable shots were probably the reason why I concluded that I liked Marketa Lazarová at last.