Dusan Hanák - Obrazy starého sveta Aka Pictures of the Old World (1972)

One of the most famous documentaries from the era of czech new wave.
Somehow the all-encompassing benefits of the socialist "paradise" of Czechoslovakia bypassed the group of old farmers shown in this 1972 documentary almost entirely, and they are shown bravely coping with dire poverty and privation. A plucky bunch, their bravery makes the fact that they have not received any benefits from the regime even more difficult to stomach. It's surprising that this film was even allowed to be made, but when it was, it was put on the shelf until 1988 when it aired at the Nyon International Film Festival in Switzerland, a festival of documentary films. There, it won top honors.





Documental que aborda el tema de la vejez de un grupo de habitantes de un pequeño poblado de la republica Checa. A través de esta busqueda intenta el autor encontrar respuestas a preguntas básicas que el ser humano se ha hecho desde que tiene conciencia de tal.





After seeing this documentary "Pictures of the Old World", I found that this film is simply marvelous and is a great tribute to old people. This documentary "Pictures of the Old World" by Dusan Hanák in 1988 now becomes the evidence of both the sensitivity and strength of Czechoslovakia documentary. This documentary is about older people talking about their life-stories. The documentary explores the values of generation of an old countryman, and his confrontation for the harshness and difficulty of rural patterns of existence, but also celebrating ingenuity, honor and courage of a person. Hanák's image structure is scarce and precise, luminous and touching, taking us audiences from the everyday muddy works and struggles to the internal world of the imagination.