Sonya is the inheritor to the riches of a Czech noble family – the Hajns. Petr, a social climber marries her, ignoring the shady goings-on, especially an insane uncle who prowls the mansion thinking he is invisible, a peccadilo the family seems to bear with and entertain. The mad uncle stalking every corner of the house, popping out of cupboards and curtains slowly takes its toll on the young bride.
Director: Jirí Svoboda. AKA Uncle Cyril / The Damned House of Hajn
Writers: Jaroslav Havlícek (novel), Václav Sasek, Jirí Svoboda.
Stars: Petr Brukner, Radoslav Brzobohatý, Václav Burkert, Petr Cepek, Emma Cerná, Frantisek Cuzna, Miroslav Hajn, Emil Horváth, Frantisek Husák, Valérie Kaplanová, Ondrej Pavelka, Frantisek Rehák, Ota Sklencka, Evelyna Steimarová, Martin Stropnický, Frantisek Svihlík, Petra Vancíková, Bohumil Vávra, Vladimír Salac, Jakub Zdenek.
Cinematographer: Vladimír Smutný.
Composer: Jozef Revallo.
First you despise, then comes the praise. This film is not a mere example of cinema noir, but a clash between feudal dogmas, blind love and family bonding, religious stagnation, and the dawn of industrialisation, bringing positivism and the cold calculation of means and ends. Very much claustrophobic.