Peter Solan
1929 - 2013The Boxer and Death
Peter Solan
Štefan Kvietik
Concentration camp commander Kraft finds out that prisoner Kominek is a former professional boxer. Overnight, the prisoner is made Kraft's exercise partner and unwillingly rises to a privileged position at the camp. His anger over the death of his friend and co-prisoner leads to open revolt. The film brings a new view of human degradation during fascism by a tragic story of one man whose only chance for survival is to accept the rules of an unequal game.
The Boxer and Death
Kým sa skončí táto noc
Peter Solan
Michal Belák, Stano Dančiak
Two female clerks using up their savings to enjoy a few days of carefree life, two plumbers looking for an erotic adventure, a building contractor determined to drink away all wages of his workers and a former major who became an alcoholic due to political persecution — these people meet in a ski resort bar somewhere in the High Tatras. During one night they gradually reveal their unfulfilled dreams, illusions and disappointments of ”average" people of those times.
Before Tonight Is Over
The Barnabás Kos Case
Peter Solan
Ján Bzdúch, Josef Kemr
In this bitingly satirical film Peter Slovan, a continuous source of trouble for the film functionaries of the socialist Slovakia, tackles an evergreen topic – the corruptive effects of power. Barnabáš Kos, a triangle player at a symphonic orchestra, is suddenly promoted to serve as the head of the said institution, even though both he and his superiors deem him completely unfit for the task. Encouraged in equal parts by this unexpected recognition and the servile praise of his colleagues, Kos’s modesty starts to gradually vanish. The erstwhile bashful and aloof percussionist quickly becomes aware of the advantages of his new office, and begins to realise his increasingly ludicrous artistic ambitions. Ultimately, the submissive marionette turns into a source of public humiliation, and his astonishing career finds an abrupt end. Orchestra serves here as a microcosm that grotesquely reflects the absurd and tragicomic mechanisms of the paranoid apparatus of power.
The Barnabás Kos Case
And I'll Run to the Ends of the Earth
Peter Solan
Anetka Lakatosová, Ivan Mistrík
Majka "Chatterbox" is a girl entering adolescence. She was born with a minor disability. While her mother keeps scolding her for the way she walks, her classmates mock her and call her a "duck". Along an innocent first love affair and a secret friendship, she receives little understanding from her parents and lots of malice from her schoolmates. Majka finds refuge with her grandmother and in her own fantasy world. Director Peter Solan made a sensitive portrait of a twelve year-old schoolgirl. The eloquent film language talks to child and adult audiences alike.
And I'll Run to the Ends of the Earth
Čert nespí
František Žáček, Peter Solan
Bohuš Králik, Jozef Kroner
Episodic film consisting of three satirical shorts ('Smutný káder', 'Typický prípad' and 'Vel'korysá kampaň') comically exposing the shortcomings of society. In the interval between each short, a committee recognising themselves in the characters on screen, voice their approval or disapproval of each film.
The Devil Does Not Sleep
Dialóg 20-40-60
Jerzy Skolimowski, Zbyněk Brynych
Joanna Szczerbic, Jean-Pierre Léaud
"Using the same, three times repeating dialogue – dramatic conversation between man and woman – Jerzy Skolimowski from Poland, Slovak director Peter Solan and Czech director Zbynìk Brynych shot three different stories. The result was an extraordinary experiment in the world cinema, which we can call an insight in the relationships of men and women of different age groups, an analysis of love and marriage of those who are at the beginning, in the middle or going towards the end of their life."
Dialogue 20-40-60