Portál hlavního města Prahy

A man on a business trip - Ludvík Jahn (Josef Somr) decided to use the opportunity and take revenge on his former friend Zemánek (Luděk Munzar) who tried to harm him in the fifties. Ludvík revenged himself by seducing Zemánek’s wife. He doesn’t, however, know that the couple doesn’t live together any more. .. Jahn is an injured victim; Zemánek is a chameolon-like intellectual. The third character is Kostka, an old classmate of John (Evald Schorm) who was expelled from the University because of his religion. For him this personal grievance is a challenge. He is an author of the strongest sentence of the movie: “A world where no one is forgiven is Hell.”

Through the eyes of the photographer

Shooting of the movie was documented by the camera that belonged to Jan Kuděla who agreed to share his memories with us:

“On 21st August we were supposed to be shooting in Prague ateliers and the meeting point was to be on Wenceslas Square by Darex, at nine o’clock. Of course, no one turned up, well, apart from the wardrobe mistress who was a very reliable, older woman. Tanks were driving around and lots of shooting was going on, but she stayed there waiting. At the end she got upset and called to Barrandov from a phone box: “I have been waiting for forty five minutes and nobody turned up!” She was told: “For heaven’s sake, what are you doing there? We are occupied, go home, quickly!”

In about ten days time we were supposed to be shooting a demonstration of young people supporting the Communist regime. Extras were recruited from university students. In the turbulent circumstances we couldn’t shoot the scene on the street because it would be viewed as provocation. Therefore we chose a spot in Barrandov, in front of the main entry to the atelier no 5. Students were prepared and the director gave order: “And now you will shout Long live the Soviet Union!”

”No way,” they refused in chorus.

”Hang on, this is not real. It is only for a movie,” he explained.

“In no case, we refuse,” they insisted.

”You are paid and this is a part of the script…”

”We are not going to say that”, they refused again.

Shooting of scenes that were evoking the fifties was in the end a success. Long negotiations were, however, needed.”

*****

Most scenes were shot in Uherské Hradište where once a beautiful park was situated. One of those days the shooting dragged on for long after midnight. We lived close and therefore most of us indulged in good Moravian wine. Unfortunately, I travelled there by car and that’s why I had only a small glass as I knew that I had to drive to the hotel. I sat behind the wheel and set off. After a while I got stopped by a policeman and thought my god, I’m in a pretty pickle. ”Please get out of the car. Have you been drinking? –Blow into the plastic bag. .” I would like to stress that I have never done it before, so it didn’t surprise me that the policeman gave me an ordinary child’s balloon. I blew into it and thought that he will attach the tube afterwards. He took it, slowly let out the air and smelt it. At the end he said,”well, you can go now‘.

Through the eyes of the protagonist

Josef Somr, native of Vracov, played the part of the main character Ludvík Jahn. Thanks to the shooting he visited the Moravian Slovacko that was a place very close to him. The director Jireš knew me from the theatre Čioherní club and that is probably why he chose me. It was very inspiring work with Jana Dítětova and the wonderful Edvald Schorm. When I was ordered by the director to beat up Míchal Pavlata I had to redeem myself with a battle of plumb brandy. Up to this day I’ve been apologising to him for that beating.”

To this day Somr remembers the difficult moments spent in Mostecko where the scenes with the work units of the Czechoslovak army, Auxiliary Technical Battalions, were shot. He remembered well similar situations from the time when he served as a soldier in Ostrava and Frýdek Místek. ”We worked hard there and were full of dust and dirt.” Whereas the shooting of the Ride of the Kings, that took place in Vlčnov, was a wonderful experience. ”I returned there after many years and still, people remembered me…I didn’t see the Joke for the first time until 1990.”

The movie Joke
Source material: Milan Kundera (he wrote the novel with the same title in 1965)
Script: Jaromil Jireš, Milan Kundera a Zdeněk Bláha
Music: Zdeněk Pololáník
Camera: Jan Čuřík
Main characters:
Josef Somr (Ludvík Jahn), Jana Dítětová (Helena Zemánková), Luděk Munzar (Pavel Zemánek), Jaroslava Obermaierová (Markéta), Evald Schorm (Kostka), Jaromír Hanzlík (poručík)
Exteriors: Chotěšov u Plzně, Most, Uherské Hradiště, Jižní Morava
80 minutes, black and white
In 1971 it was forbidden and shown again as late as in 1990

Berta Štenclová