Landscape (Krajinka)

The film takes place between 1920 and 1970. It recounts episodes from Slovakian history; tragicomic moments in the lives of a handful of villagers. At first, these stories are part of a humorous village idyll featuring characters such as doctor Roth, who saves little Ondrejko’s life by blowing cigar smoke into his lungs; Imro, a young cartographer, who, in return for an hour’s lovemaking to the watchmaker’s widow, is rewarded with a watch and a thieving vagabond, who is protected by none other than Saint Christopher. But this carefree time soon passes. Dr. Roth is arrested and deported to a concentration camp, three successive armies occupy the Kama family farm and the countryside that surrounds the village becomes a desolate wasteland. The end of the war heralds a more optimistic era … (Catalogue Film Festival, Berlin)