Desire – Touha (1958)

Desire - Touha (1958)

Desire movie storyline. This is a poetic film about life, told with four vignettes, each one set during a different season and featuring a character at a different stage in life. The first a young boy anticipating the arrival of a new baby sister in the spring, the second a post adolescent girl who falls in love in the summer, the third an adult woman who toils away at the fields in the fall, and the last an old widowed teacher who falls ill in the winter.

Although the stories themselves are not particularly exciting or memorable, relying on symbolism rather than drama to tell the tale. It is a beautifully rendered film with many picturesque scenes, and provides an interesting portrait of ordinary rural Czech people in the late 50’s. It also serves as a good starting point for Jasný, who would later go on to garner international success with The Cassandra Cat and All My Good Countrymen. Two films that I look forward to watching in the near future.

Desire (Czech: Touha) is a pre Czech New Wave film written and directed by Vojtech Jasný. It was screened at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival where it was given the Best Selection Award by the Jury. Starring are Václav Babka, Eva Blazková, Vladimír Brabec, Jana Brejchová, Vlastimil Brodský, Vera Bublíková, J. Chrencík, Milada Davidová, Anton Gýmerský, Blažena Holišová, Jan Jakes, Marie Kyselková and Anna Melísková.

Desire - Touha (1958)

Desire - Touha Movie Poster (1958)

Desire – Touha (1958)

Directed by: Vojtěch Jasný
Starring: Václav Babka, Eva Blazková, Vladimír Brabec, Jana Brejchová, Vlastimil Brodský, Vera Bublíková, J. Chrencík, Milada Davidová, Anton Gýmerský, Blažena Holišová, Jan Jakes, Marie Kyselková, Anna Melísková
Screenplay by: Vladimír Valenta
Production Design by: Karel Lier
Cinematography by: Jaroslav Kučera
Film Editing by: Jan Chaloupek
Costume Design by: Libuse Hozová
Art Direction by: Jan Oliva
Music by: Filmový Symfonický Orchestr, Stepán Konícek
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Ceskoslovenský Státní Film
Release Date: December 25, 1958

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