Voices from Another World: Feminine Space and Masculine Intrusion in “Sedmikrásky” and “Vražda Ing. Čerta”

Petra Hanáková

Abstract

Hanáková argues that Věra Chytilová’s Daisies (Sedmikrásky, 1966) and Ester Krumbachová’s The Murder of Engineer Devil (Vražda ing. Čerta, 1970) are the only films in the history of Czech cinema that can be considered as the examples of the use of feminist aesthetics in its anarchic and subversive form. The Czech New Wave (these films were made at its height) gave birth to politically conscious aesthetic experiments, and its interests ranged from man’s freedom, a human being, truth and courage. However, gender (in terms of tradition and essentialism) roles and positions remained intact. The masculine version of history was universal. In this context, Chytilová’s and Krumbachová’s films are separate works of art while the traditional analysis method becomes inadequate. The films address the issue of women’s desire and pleasure, and woman plays the part of a causative subject. This tactics produces a fragmented narrative and poses questions whether it is possible to employ such a narrative formula that will avoid the trap of a standard script with the structure of the tragedy of Oedipus. Analysing the films from this point of view, Hanáková broadens the context of her feature with the status of Chytilová and Krumbachová in the Czech cinema milieu of the time.

• The text is a translation of the chapter Voices from Another World: Feminine Space and Masculine Intrusion in „Sedmikrásky” and „Vražda Ing. Čerta” (pp. 63-77) from the volume East European Cinemas, ed. Anikó Imre, Routledge, London 2005. © 2005 by Routledge – Taylor and Francis Group.