František Čáp
František Čáp | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 12 January 1972 | (aged 58)
Occupation(s) | Film director Screenwriter |
Years active | 1937–1948 (Czechoslovakia) 1950–1970 (West Germany) 1953–1965 (Yugoslavia) |
František Čáp (7 December 1913 – 12 January 1972), also known as Franz Cap in Germany, was a Czech and later a Yugoslav
Life
Čáp was born in Čachovice (now in central Czech Republic).[2] As an already established professional, he moved to Ljubljana in 1952, following an invitation by Branimir Tuma, director of Triglav Film.[3] In 1957, he moved to Portorož, a coastal town in southwestern Slovenia, where he lived until his death.[2]
Work
Prior to his arrival in Yugoslavia, Čáp was praised as the young star of Czech cinema. During World War II he directed a dozen light romantic dramas and melodramas, among them the internationally acclaimed
In the 1950s and 1960s Čap directed five films for Triglav film and another six co-productions and non-Slovene productions. Čáp's first Yugoslav film, romantic comedy
Čap's second Slovene film was a war drama Trenutki odločitve (Moments of Decision, 1955) about the urgency of reconciliation between partisans and white guards, a topic with which he produced the first censored film in Slovenia.[5]
During his "Yugoslav era", Čap did not only engage in Slovene productions, but in various other acclaimed productions and co-productions. He directed
In 1956 Čáp shot Die Geierwally (The Vulture Wally), based on the novel by Wilhelmine von Hillern, in Germany, while X-25 javlja ("X-25 Reports", 1960), a World War II spy thriller set in Zagreb, saw extensive international theatrical release as well.[3] However, after his poorly received comedy Naš avto (Our Car, 1962), Čáp was unable to find work in Yugoslavia and he turned to direct for television. He was engaged in directing a TV series and two TV films for German and Austrian televisions.[3] In Slovenia where he lived, though, he was only able to participate in one more production, directing a short film Piran (1965).
Criticism and reception
Contemporary Slovene film criticism widely accepts that the 5 films that František Čap directed in Slovene, Vesna, Trenutki odločitve, Ne čakaj na maj, X 25 Reports and Our Car, introduced a Hollywood type of narrative and cosmopolitan appearance to 1950's Slovene cinema. Though struggling with negative criticism in his own time, today Čáp is praised as a craftsman who helped the undeveloped Slovene and Yugoslav cinema – at the time infected with dilettante technical standards, problematic focus on local issues and stiff literary adaptations – to rise to the level of an exquisite craft with universal intelligibility.[5]
Some critics viewed it as "genre cinema" — as Čáp mostly directed comedies, thrillers, and melodramas — though these do not correspond strictly to genre rules. "Mainstream cinema" is a term that more accurately describes its aim to attract the audience by means of a classical, easily intelligible narrative, and by emphasizing the story and dramatic structure, not so much qualities of cinema as an art form.
The negative reviews of Čáp's work occurred mostly during the times of 1960's, 70's and 80's Yugoslavian film criticism. The orthodox communist reviewers saw in it a bourgeois threat to socialist values, and a conservative return to the middle class phantom concepts (e.g. The idea of innocent romantic love).[5] They also minded Čáp's comedies’ prevailing themes of spoiled youth and their sexual awakening in Vesna and Ne čakaj na maj.[6]
The name object of early criticism, however, was the misrepresentation (or lack of representation) of Slovene culture in Čáp's cinema, especially in the hugely popular comedies. A number of reviewers saw Čáp as a foreigner who has never assimilated to Slovene culture. They resented that the films were not specific enough and could be set anywhere in Central Europe. These reviews seem traditionalist and xenophobic from contemporary point of view. Contemporary Slovene film theorists have largely praised Čáp's "foreignness" or "otherness", reasoning that his ignorance for regional values and conflicts has actually helped him to maintain the necessary objective distance and his particular sense of film direction and storytelling.[5]
Čáp and Slovene language
Contrary to complaints regarding the generic nature of the films, it is well recognized that Čáp contributed drastically to the adaptation of the Slovene language for cinematic use. The dialogues were fluent and had substance, there was plenty of wordplays, verbal comedy, urban slang and authentic regional accents. The dialogues from Čap's comedies came into general usage and became items of universal joking across generations and nation. Whereas Slovene in pre-Čap cinema had not functioned well, Čáp invented a slang liberated from constraints of purism and theatricality. Thus the director, while being attacked for directing un-Slovene films by many reviewers, in fact enriched Slovene language and culture.[7]
Selected filmography
- A Step into the Darkness (Czech: Krok do tmy) (1937) - screenwriter only
- Virginity (Czech: Panenství) (1937) - screenwriter only
- Fiery Summer (Czech: Ohnivé léto) (1939)
- Grandmother (Czech: Babička) (1940)
- Jan Cimbura (1941)
- Nocturnal Butterfly (Czech: Noční motýl) (1941)
- The Dancer (1943)
- Mist on the Moors (Czech: Mlhy na Blatech) (1944)
- The Girl from Beskydy Mountains (Czech: Děvčica z Beskyd) (1944)
- Men Without Wings (Czech: Muži bez křídel) (1946)
- Sign of the Anchor (Czech: Znamení kotvy) (1947)
- Muzikant (1948)
- White Darkness (1948)
- Crown Jewels (German: Kronjuwelen) (1950)
- All Clues Lead to Berlin (German: Die Spur führt nach Berlin) (1952)
- Vesna (1953)
- The Beginning Was Sin (German: Am Anfang war es Sünde) (1954)
- Moments of Decision (Slovene: Trenutki odločitve) (1955)
- The Vulture Wally (German: Die Geierwally) (1956)
- Ne čakaj na maj) (1957)
- Sand, Love and Salt (Slovene: Kruh in sol) (1957)
- The Door Remains Open (Serbo-Croatian: Vrata ostaju otvorena) (1957)
- X 25 Reports (Slovene: X 25 javlja) (1960)
- Meet You Tonight (Serbo-Croatian: Srešćemo se večeras) (1962)
- Our Car (Slovene: Naš avto) (1962)
- Mafia – Die ehrenwerte Gesellschaft (1966, TV miniseries)
- Rinaldo Rinaldini (1968–1969, TV series)
Awards
- Nocturnal Butterfly - Targa di segnalazione at 1941 Venice Film Festival
- Men Without Wings - Grand Prix at 1946 Cannes Film Festival[8]
- Vesna - The Critics' Choice Award at the 1954 Pula Film Festival
- Moments of Decision - Big Golden Arena for Best Film at the 1955 Pula Film Festival
References
- ISBN 978-1838718497.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ ISSN 2463-8315.
- ^ a b c d Polimac, Nenad (5 June 2010). "Povratak Františeka Čapa, prvog gay šikaniranog filmaša u Jugoslaviji". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ Vrdlovec, Zdenko (2013), Zgodovina filma na slovenskem, Ljubljana: UMco.
- ^ a b c d e Stanković, Peter (2013), Čapovi slovenski igrani celovečerci, KINO! 21.
- ^ Štefančič, Marcel (2005): Na svoji zemlji. Zgodovina slovenskega filma, Ljubljana: UMco.
- ^ Krečič, Jela (2013), “Vesna in Ne čakaj na maj: kako smo v sivini realsocialističnega vsakdana prišli do komičnega duha”, KINO! 21.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Men Without Wings". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
External links
- František Čáp at IMDb
- František Čáp at AllMovie