Prague TV Directory › Articles › Cinema Articles › Erotikon

Erotikon

Classic Movie Review: A groundbreaking sex scene and innovative imagery lift Gustav Machatý's largely forgotten silent melodrama

Erotikon
By Andy Markowitz
Thu 13th Apr, 2006 [updated Fri 14th Apr, 2006]		 Add to favorites email print this article Stumble! del.icio.us digg this

Volvo
ADVERTISEMENT Director: Gustav Machatý
Writer: Gustav Machatý
Starring: Ita Rina, Olaf Fjord

A rural railway stationmaster's virginal but obviously curious daughter is sexually initiated by a lothario stranded at the depot by a fierce storm. Their love scene contains no nudity; you barely know the guy is there. But the sequence pulses with erotic energy, with its close-ups of the girl's gasping, glowing face, shaky point-of-view shots of her bedroom walls and, finally, the image of two drops of water sliding down her windowpane, merging into one.

This, mind you, in a silent film released in 1929. Erotikon's plot is melodramatically standard: Left pregnant, Andrea (played beautifully by Slovene actress Ita Rina) marries another man and moves to Prague, only to encounter her former lover and recover her former lust. But the film's expressionistic imagery and nonjudgmental approach to sexual desire (especially female sexual desire) lent it an avant-garde tinge. (Surrealist writer Vítězslav Nezval had an uncredited hand in the screenplay.) Largely forgotten amid the international sensation Machatý's taboo-busting Extase wrought three years later and thought lost for decades, Erotikon stamps its maker as the first real artist to emerge from the Czech cinema. Not an easy film to find, but very much worth seeing if you get a chance.

Year: 1929
Runtime: 1 hour, 25 minutes


• For a historical perspective and information on where to rent classic films like this, see Andy Markowitz's Czech cinema article
Article added on Thu 13th Apr, 2006 [last updated Fri 14th Apr, 2006]
COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE
Your name:
Your email:
Spam prevention - enter the text from this image:
(Tip: Logged in members do not have enter the spam prevention code.)
All comments are welcome, but please note that those that offer clarification, criticism, corrections, or insight are likely to be published.
READ ALL CINEMA ARTICLES MORE CINEMA ARTICLES
Review: Secrets From The Casting Couch by Guy Roberts
An entertaining behind-the-scenes view of Prague's film industry
Added on Thu 10th Dec, 2009 (Last updated Thu 10th Dec, 2009)
Zombieland by Irene Carpintero
Zombie Horror Comedy
Added on Tue 1st Dec, 2009 (Last updated Wed 2nd Dec, 2009)
2012 by Irene Carpintero
Roland Emmerich Disaster Movie
Added on Tue 10th Nov, 2009 (Last updated Tue 10th Nov, 2009)
Občan Havel (Citizen Havel) by Dene-Hern Chen
Presidential Documentary
Added on Thu 6th Mar, 2008 (Last updated Wed 12th Mar, 2008)

GOLD LISTINGS

Charles Bridge ResidenceCharles Bridge Residence
Comfortable, affordable apartment just 150 meters from Charles Bridge.

Auto Průhonice - VolvoAuto Průhonice - Volvo
We are different, we are number one proffesionals if the issue is:...

PH2 TranslationsPH2 Translations
We keep it simple: reasonable prices, reliable service

MORE ARTICLES

Prague TV Home | Contact | About | FAQ | Site Map | Search | Advertise | Privacy | Terms of Service

Prague TV is a Real Time Production. ©2010 All rights reserved.

Prague Directory