Directed by:
Juraj HerzCinematography:
Stanislav MilotaComposer:
Zdeněk LiškaCast:
Rudolf Hrušínský, Vlasta Chramostová, Jana Stehnová-Čechová, Miloš Vognič, Ilja Prachař, Zora Božinová, Eduard Kohout, Jiří Lír, Dimitrij Rafalský, Jan Vlček (more)Plots(1)
Prague at the end of the nineteen-thirties. Mr Kopfrkingl works in a crematorium. He is happily married and has two children - Zina and Milivoj. He looks after his family carefully and is conscientious in his job. He has a number of friends in the Society of Friends of Cremation and meets them at evening parties. One of them is the fascist Walter Reinke, who publicly rejoices at the annexation of Austria to the Greater German Reich. He tries to persuade Kopfrkingl that he too has German blood in his veins, and Walter's Nazi propaganda begins to make an impression on a man whose psychological state is affected by the constant presence of death in his life. Kopfrkingl becomes a member of the Nazi party, takes an active part in persecuting Jews and informs on his colleagues and friends to the Gestapo. One day Walter reminds him that his mother-in-law had been of non-Aryan origin and this could present an obstacle to Kopfrkingl's future career. Kopfrkingl therefore hangs his wife, with perverted tenderness. When Walter points out that his children also have Jewish blood, he resolves to kill them as well. He brutally slaughters Milivoj, but Zina manages to escape. Thus purefied, Koprfingl accepts an opportunity to join in preparations for mass cremations. He believes that in this way he will contribute to the salvation of the world. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (8)
I don't remember a movie ever chilling me this much the entire time, even without anything scary or disturbing happening. Rudolf Hrušínský's presence alone left me frightened whenever he appeared in a shot. The highlight is the scene of the funeral speech in the closing, where his masterful acting is brought to perfection. Top-notch filmmaking quality; it would require a bit of courage to watch it again.
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What more can I say? This film is big! Thanks to Rudolf Hrušínský, great thanks to Ladislav Fuks' book, which Herz was able to translate into an equally suggestive image in an absolutely incredible way. The overall stylization and the very sleek, regular pace of storytelling accurately mirror Roman Kopfrkingl's heart, where everything unfolds in concentric circles, where the same sentences and the same thoughts are repeated over and over again, and where a morbid obsession gradually emerges. First death, then your own specialness. The inner life of a man whose whole world is built on a game, to deny reality and transform it into something bizarrely humble, kind, and sleek, including death. Hrušínský as a half-empty vessel, gradually filled with the poison of ideology and conviction of his own importance, is inhumanly convincing. So is Herz's entire film... The most suggestive portrait of the madness of man and time period that I know.
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A blissful, heavenly movie, even. The hypnotically dreamy atmosphere goes hand in hand with the innovative technical angle. A blessed thing, so to speak, of human dimensions, without a rival in the whole of our enchantingly beautiful country. And you will find many better movies even in the beautiful outside world. And Rudolf Hrušínský? A blessed actor who no longer has to feel that he didn’t do enough for us.
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One of the ten most significant Czech films of all time, with the best direction by Juraj Herz and the strongest performance by Rudolf Hrušínský on screen. The gradual and subtle transformation of a model small-town citizen into a collaborator and fascist is also a reminder of many Czech fates during the authoritarian Second Republic and the occupation (Moravec), as well as a foreshadowing of the shift in attitudes of our elites during the normalization period. It is no wonder that this film had a rough ride... Excellent work with detail, camera, and especially editing. The morbid atmosphere is understandably not for everyone, but it is outstanding filmmaking through and through. Overall impression: 100%.
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The delightfully animated performance of the masturbating Rudolf Hrušínský, who jerks and caresses with every gesture and phrase, and practically never leaves the screen during the entire film, is the main asset and the driving force behind the feeling of happiness and success from the audience's contact with Herz's cult. We’ve been reminded many times that Fuks's book was at the beginning and that Fuks was an extremely imaginative author of black humor in his other works. Formally, the film was then grasped by cinematographer Milota and by overusing the fisheye, he foreshadowed immortality, namely that The Cremator will never be forgotten in the film departments of all the better schools. The message is clear: human pettiness is the ruin of the world and we are animals if we prefer to give eternal peace to all the magical things we have around us. However, if we leave aside the minor niceties and the very entertaining film time cutting, in which we are accompanied by the permanently excited Kopfrkingl, we find ourselves very easily in the transparent world of Munich and narrative clichés of Czechoslovak cinema. The time when the celebration of March 15, 1939, culminated has been depicted many times and will be many more times. Yet here I find a certain shift of the kindly father away from the family, who so enjoys coming to the house full of shouting and, while he chooses a wife very similar to the one at home, he discusses with his new fellow townsmen the events to come. I also regret to point out that apart from Hrušínský's extraordinary performance, the other cast of roles is too typecast and pigeonholed. It is also trivial that with such a clearly defined time and destination, we find ourselves once again in a tangle of Krumbachian timelessness, full of bold eyeliner and crazy artificial wig creations. Chramostová's obedient wife is not unlike the one she played with similar humility in another film, and Menzel's nervous character is just another variation on his constant role in front of the camera, not to mention the typecasting of the young Kraus, the almost pubescent Vízner, the scattered Rosůlková or God forbid Gollová in the position of her second sovereign career. The lyrical Šulcová is also the same as always, while the comic duo of the hysterical Myslíková-Menšík marriage seems to have fallen out of a second-rate TV production, and we can take secondary pleasure only in the unscrupulous Prachař - although this was nothing new for him either - and the spicy Kohout, who has been a favorite since forever. The final memorable faces are the extraordinary Štekl and the absurd Anýžová. So what is the point of all this? Blood and ashes are one.
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Together with Markéta Lazarova, this is probably the greatest treasure ever to come out of Czechoslovak cinema. The masterful direction dictates a very evocative and incredibly depressing atmosphere, which is further deepened by Liška's brilliant, almost ethereal (as usual) music and the now famous "fisheye" camera, whose contribution to the final artistic and emotional impact of the film is incalculable. The rest is taken care of by the slick and endlessly garrulous Rudolf Hrušínský, who portrays his book character so believably that even Fuks himself had to shudder at his performance. A shocking, cinematically timeless and thought-provoking work that leaves the patient viewer with so many feelings, impressions and attitudes that repeated viewings are mandatory. One of the few times I put a film adaptation above the level of the book. 95%
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The Cremator can be thought of as either a deep psychological thriller or a comedy with the most morbid type of black humour. Either way, it is a high quality film in both respects, one of the best that was made in this country in the 1960s. Rudolf Hrušínský's breathtaking performance is a prime example of how one actor can conjure up an entire film all to himself, and even lead it. His monotonous and to some extent even kindly voice caused me considerable disgust, which kept building up over time. Zdeněk Liška's music is also nothing short of fabulous, especially the main theme with its unforgettable female vocals. In addition, I was impressed by the elaborate production design (Kopfrkingl's apartment and the crematorium), the visual technique of the "fisheye" and the number of bizarre supporting characters. In short, a film that is the ultimate experience that sends chills down your spine and makes your blood run cold in your veins
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The Cremator is really an incredible film. But there was little doubt about that. History has already thoroughly tested it. The way Juraj Herz uses the camera, capturing various details, the constant presence of Hrušínský's voice with a slight echo - these are just the foundations of the creeping horror that slowly seeps into your heart. An incredibly professionally and comprehensively mastered work that truly has no parallels in Czech and Slovak history.
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