CEL Library Reserves

 

Movies  ( For more information see www.imdb.com )  Listed below are some important facts to consider prior to viewing the films.

The Shop on Main Street 

The movie takes place in Slovakia in 1942.  In March 1939 the Germans occupied the Czech portion of Czechoslovakia, as the Slovaks declared their “independence”.  Hungary, Poland, and the U.S.S.R also grabbed smaller portions of the former nation.  In fact, Slovakia was a puppet state of Germany, headed by Josef Tiso a Catholic priest.  In 1944 discontent with the Nazis and losses of troops on the Russian Front fomented an unsuccessful Slovak National Uprising.  

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

In Spring 1968 a group of “reform” communists led by Alexander Dubcek briefly controlled the Czechoslovak government under the slogan, “Socialism With a Human Face” (The Prague Spring).  On August 21, 1968, Russian troops invaded and occupied the country to restore “normalization”, which included the employment of dissident professionals in menial jobs.

The Last Butterfly

During WWII the Nazis detained Jews in Terezin (German, Teresienstadt), a former military fortress 35 miles from Prague, prior to their deportation to death camps.  Terezin housed many of Europe’s best artistic talent.  “I never saw a Butterfly” was the somber slogan of Terezin’s children.  The film is based on actual incidents.

The Fixer

The movie takes place in Czarist Russia, circa 1912, and focuses on a ritual murder (based on an actual incident).  Anti-Semites contended that Jews used the blood of gentile children to make matzoth for Passover.  The movie is included to demonstrate the similarities to Kafka’s The Trial, and to compare it to a similar incident that occurred in the Czech lands at the end of the 19th century.  Thomas Masaryk, founder of Czechoslovakia and its first president, helped prove the innocence of the accused.

 

Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life (video has four shorts)

This is a short based on Kafka’s Metamorphis.  Make sure you also watch “The Deal”, especially if you like “The Donald”!  The quality of the other two shorts falls much below these two.

Books

          Introducing Kafka is a wonderful means to learn about Kafka and his works.  Written by Zane Mairowitz, and illustrated by the comic genius Robert Crumb (Fritz the cat, Keep on Truckin’, American Splendor), it presents a quick and enjoyable read into the life of one of the greatest authors.