UTB: Zlín Block

Go down the valley, into the dusty quarry where there is nothing near and far, just you and your mind straining to catch the slightest trembling. You can hear the crackling of fire in the distance. One must burn with full consciousness to become complete. A monochromatic deep dive into the blurred boundaries of consciousness and unconsciousness. “In the glimpses of the sunrays of the past I’m looking for myself – you today.”

The unceasing monologue of the distinctive regional painter Jiří Bakala ranges thematically from blunt denunciations of political conditions, through subtle recollections of moments of personal happiness, to existential reflections on the meaning of existence. He does all this with a paintbrush in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other.“But I know you shouldn't do that. But I like the way it burns. I want to maintain some kind of freedom.”

Bonds of Freedom is an anthropological reflection on the various forms of the bonds of society. Through this lens, the film explores the milieu of mushers, dog sled riders. It follows one musher family, showing their daily routine of raising sled dogs and also the Czech Long Trail (Šediváčkův Long), a dog sled race that the family both participates in and helps to organize. The anthropological reflection is told through time-lapse montage and visual metaphors.   “I was fascinated to watch the life of mushers over the course of the year, observing the parallels between animal and human life.”---Author of quote: Tomáš Kubeček

The last Prior, an unrenovated socialist department store, no longer meets the standards of modern shopping centers. It rather resembles a well-preserved open-air museum where time has stood still to allow its peculiar inhabitants to relive the eighties indefinitely. A film about what it looks like when genius loci swallows everything around it. “Nothing makes sense here.”