The Bells Toll For The Barefooted

35 mmOR15
Director:Stanislav Barabáš
Premiere:24. December 1965
Length:95 minutes
Genre:Drama

The Bells Toll For The Barefooted

Zvony pre bosých | MFF FEBIOFEST 2024; Stanislav Barabáš, 1965, versions: OR, languages: deu, slk

Director: Stanislav Barabáš • Scenario: Ivan Bukovčan • Kameraman: Vincent Rosinec • Actors: Ewa Krzyzewská, Ivan Rajniak, Vlado Müller, Radovan Lukavský, Axel Dietrich, Jozef Sorok

The destructive power of the last few weeks of war hangs in the air, illustrated by the story of two partisans returning to their unit after a battle while holding captive a 16-year-old German soldier. Wandering around the snow-covered hills, left to their own devices, and trapped in an absurd, existentialist vicious circle, they face both the harsh environment and their own selves. Their future looks grim. Yet midway through the film, events are disrupted by a woman whose last hope of finding happiness in life was crushed by the war. The impression that the film leaves had been accurately reflected in its intended name – Waiting for Death. With a free composition, sentimentally-philosophical poetics, and the metaphorizing photography of Vincent Rosinec, the ballad explores the value of friendship, bravery, and premature masculinity, and contemplates the very meaning of human existence.

Length: 95 min

Year: 1965
Local premiere date: 24. December 1965

Country of origin:

  • Czechoslovakia

Language version:

OR - Original version (german, slovak)

Director: Stanislav Barabáš • Scenario: Ivan Bukovčan • Kameraman: Vincent Rosinec • Actors: Ewa Krzyzewská, Ivan Rajniak, Vlado Müller, Radovan Lukavský, Axel Dietrich, Jozef Sorok

The destructive power of the last few weeks of war hangs in the air, illustrated by the story of two partisans returning to their unit after a battle while holding captive a 16-year-old German soldier. Wandering around the snow-covered hills, left to their own devices, and trapped in an absurd, existentialist vicious circle, they face both the harsh environment and their own selves. Their future looks grim. Yet midway through the film, events are disrupted by a woman whose last hope of finding happiness in life was crushed by the war. The impression that the film leaves had been accurately reflected in its intended name – Waiting for Death. With a free composition, sentimentally-philosophical poetics, and the metaphorizing photography of Vincent Rosinec, the ballad explores the value of friendship, bravery, and premature masculinity, and contemplates the very meaning of human existence.

Year: 1965
Local premiere date: 24. December 1965

Country of origin:

  • Czechoslovakia

Language version:

OR - Original version (german, slovak)