Burning Bush - Il fuoco di Praga

I just viewed this at the Philadelphia Film Festival, and I am still reeling. This movie packs a wallop, I was on the edge of my seat for the whole viewing. The four-plus hours (including two well-timed intermissions) flew by. The Burning Bush is well worth your time.

The story has multiple characters, is complicated and intricate. In light of the current attention given to bullying, this is a primer of institutional and political bullying against private citizens by an occupying force, and of how that poison spread to local government officials. The depth of emotions, the short-sightedness of those in control, and the long-term fallout of decisions are all explored in depth.

Holland's deft hand at keeping these many balls in the air, of not going overboard with personalities, and in maintaining the viewer's interest, is the sign of a true master. The cinematography, pacing, and acting are superb. This exploration of the power of martyrdom, or, better stated, the making of a martyr, is most powerful because it presents various points of view and subsequent decisions made, radiating outwards from Jan Palach's desperate act of defiance.

If you have the chance to see this, make the time.

a special film. a real special film. for the artistic virtues. for the case of Jan Palach, who becomes more than a page of history behind the Iron Curtain. for atmosphere and for the mechanism of political system. and for the rhythm of a story of survive and conscience, courage and fears. it is easy to say than a film by Margarethe von Trotta is , always, a revelation as new perspective about old, known facts. but "Burning Bush" has the science to explain not a case but a reality, the same in the Communist camp, but, in same measure, profound Czechoslovakian . because its virtue is its honesty. to show the pain and fight and idealism of a period. the terror of authorities. the importance of society word. the vulnerability. and pure emotions. more than touching or impressive, it is an useful film. this fact defines it. and transforms it in proof of the basic virtues of humankind.

Superb film which tells a slice of the history of Czechoslovakia recently invaded by Russia. Very credible recreation. Very long film to see as a mini-serie.

This is not just the story of Jan Palach and his self-immolation in protest against the political oppression of the communists in Czechoslovakia 1969 but also the story of many people involved in his case, especially his mother.

There are some extremely sensitive scenes in this tremendous film of how political oppression works with its fatal immeasurable consequences for individuals, whose lives more often than not are ruined by bureaucrats who are unaware of it but victims themselves of the system.

The mother here is an ordinary elderly lady, one of hundreds of thousands of mothers whose sufferings, fates and quiet martyrdom never become known, but the focus of this film is lifting forth this mother with an overwhelming impression on those who must empathize with her. It's the most difficult part, and the actress playing her is more than just convincing - it is, as Polanski would have termed it, totally organic. The psychological torture she is subjected to for suing the authorities for slandering her son after his suicide is more cruel than any physical torture and must break her to mind and soul.

This film is almost documentary in its detailed psychological account of this sensitive case with all its victims and at the same time a masterpiece of suspense. I have never seen anything like it, while closest to it might be Margaretha Von Trotta's similar psychological insightful next-to documentaries of human suffering under autocracies of mental cruelty more severe and evil than any ordinary open cruelty for its carefully intentional inhumanity.

Still, Agnieszka Holland makes you understand all these pawns of fate as no more than human caught up in the human destructiveness of totalitarianism, which gets worse the longer it lasts, the only comfort of which is that it is always doomed.

The original film is almost 4 hours, there is a slightly abbreviated version of only 3, but it is well worth acquiring the longer version.

Agnieszka Holland's new historical miniseries, about the 1969 public self-immolation of Prague student Jan Palach and the ensuing fallout, is possibly the biggest triumph of her career.

As with the recent trend of films like Carlos, certain miniseries are being given limited runs in theaters when they were helmed from beginning to end by a well-respected art-house circuit director.

At nearly four hours, Burning Bush is hardly a chore to watch, though. It's a breakneck historical epic, political thriller, and courtroom drama all rolled into one. The result is some sort of cinematic Czech national anthem, but also a reminder to anyone of the limitless potential one act of seemingly-futile protest can have against injustice.

The story is a dazzling juggling act of a large cast of vibrant and fascinating characters. From beginning to end it's consistently powerful without needing to resort to mustache-twirling villains or faultless heroes.