In the midst of the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in the 1960s, one man fell to his death; his body was charred from head to toe. Thousands dispersed, unwilling to approach the body for fear of the fire. Police discovered a note attached to his body; it stated that he would burn himself alive as a form of protest against the Russian invasion of his country. His name was Jan Palach; he was only the first of many, the note said, and if the Russians did not immediately exit Czechoslovakia, more people from his group would burn themselves alive until they did.
The note was intentionally vague about
the specifics of the group; the police were concerned about keeping the
citizens of Czechoslovakia as far out of reach of this group as possible, but
they had no information to go on. After
weighing various alternatives, they decided to ask Jan’s family, as they were
the people police believed would have been closest to him.
The only issue was that none of them had
anything to do with the group mentioned by Jan’s note. At a loss as to how to proceed, the police
then continued to conduct their investigation internally. After a long period of time in which no
progress seemed to be made, they sent an astonishing report to various
newspapers. According to the reports, Jan
had never intended to kill himself; the group that he was part of had coerced
him to take part in a massive demonstration by pouring himself with a newly
created compound that would simulate the appearance of fire while keeping his
body temperate; the reports dubbed it “cold fire”. Unfortunately, a random terrorist had
switched the chemical with a more toxic substance, and thus, Jan burned himself
to death.
Despite
making these claims, the article never cited any sources other than to mention
that the article was a result of the writers’ own research. Jan’s family smelled a rat, but how would
they find out the truth? They knew Jan
was too intelligent to fall for the trick detailed in the reports. It was understandable that their fury and
grief would cause them to lash out, but beyond that, an answer was officially
on record; not necessarily a plausible answer, but an answer nonetheless. How would they find anyone who would take
their questions seriously?
Eventually they found a lawyer
willing to take their case and sue for defamation of Jan’s character, but it
took a lot of subtle pressure from her colleague’s daughter, who was secretly
empathetic towards the Palachs.
What follows is an excoriating critique
of police states and governmental sanctions of media and news, made even more
potent by the fact that this film is based on a true story.
The acting is uniformly of high
calibre. Vilém Novy plays Martin Huba,
the corrupt editor responsible for the fake story spread throughout
Czechoslovakian news. Novy’s interpretation of Huba is a man who you can tell has bad intentions from
the mere look in his eye, yet his character goes through some interesting
changes. The lines on his face change
into something very interesting, and the gradual morphing of his sensibilities
is believable and fascinating to watch.
As Dagmar Burešová, the lawyer who
took on the case, Tatiana Pauhofová sells each scene, and makes a completely
convincing and engaging figure. Although
Mrs. Burešová performed a courageous deed and did a great public service, Burning
Bush doesn’t show her as a straight heroic figure. The stress of representing such a complicated
case takes a toll on her, and she often treats her family coldly because she is
so frustrated at her lack of progress on the case. Over the course of the series, after witnessing
what Jan Palach’s mother goes through, she gradually becomes more appreciative
of the close bond her family shares and she starts becoming a better mom as
well as a fierce crusader for the rights of individuals.
Libuše Palachová is a veteran actress,
and she astonishes with a potent, depressing and emotional portrayal of
Jaroslava Pokorná, Jan’s mother. She
communicates the loss and pain experienced by mothers who have outlived at
least one of their own children so effectively that it caused many people in
the audience to cry. I was not the only
one.
The best thing to be said about Burning
Bush is that its nearly four hour running time feels shorter than it is. I wanted to spend more time with these
characters, and the shift from day to night outside the theatre was
shocking. Agnieszka Holland is a master
director with a long filmography, and she has directed another masterpiece with
Burning Bush.Oded Aronson
1 comment:
You screwed up. Jaroslava Pokorná portrayed Libuše Palachová, not the other way around!
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