Adelheid
1969 · Czechoslovakia · 99 min
- Director
- František Vláčil
- Screenplay
- Vladimír Körner, František Vláčil
- Music
- Zdeněk Liška
- Cinematography
- František Uldrich
- Editing
- Miroslav Hájek
Cast
What it is about
After the war, Czechoslovak lieutenant Viktor Chotovický returns home following years in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he held a desk job with the RAF. He is appointed custodian of an empty manor once occupied by the German family of a notorious Nazi war criminal held by Czechoslovak authorities. There he meets Adelheid, the criminal's daughter, who is forced to work as a cleaner in her former home. Their relationship is shaped by desire, by Viktor's sense of national identity, and by the tensions between Czechs and Germans in postwar years.
How it was made
The film adapts Vladimír Körner's 1967 novel of the same name, and Körner co-wrote the screenplay with Vláčil. As in other Körner works, the story is set in the Sudetenland. Filming took place at Lužec castle, near Vroutek, and in villages close to Liberec. Barrandov produced the film in 1969. Zdeněk Liška's soundtrack draws on existing music by Bach and Strauss.
Reception and legacy
Critics gave the film very positive reviews on its 1969 release, and many considered it Vláčil's second-best work, after Marketa Lazarová. The authorities viewed it unfavourably, and its limited release led to modest cinema attendance.
Stills
Trivia
Borrowed music
Zdeněk Liška's soundtrack is built on existing music by Bach and Strauss.
A castle as location
Part of the shoot took place at Lužec castle, near the town of Vroutek.
More films by František Vláčil
Marketa Lazarová
Shadows of a Hot Summer
The Valley of the BeesOriginal Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.