Love Between the Raindrops (1980, Karel Kachyna)
Composed as a coming of age symphony in 6 movements, Love Between the Raindrops[is one of Kachyna's most playful and creative. We switch between rapid editing, and long, often moving takes, showcasing all of Kachyna's strengths as a director. Once again he mixes colour, black and white and sepia, memories, dreams and exaggeration, bonding, pain, lust and metaphors. In some ways it could be said to be a Czech Amarcord, though, ironically given its structure - more focused - with the entire film narrated and focused on a young boy living with his widowed, drunken father and older brother.
Each movement starts with hectic editing, the early movements in particular opening in a seemingly unrelated night club, framed by sons, gags, masks and lead by a mysterious host - often intercutting characters from our story - and creating so many moments of "echoes", where minor characters with specific traits can be elevated simply by the small things they do: One example - in cuts from the father's local bar, there will be a man who in a quick cut or two does a trick or two - as the years pass you will see him do another, and another - all interwoven in a greater whole.
This can be so hectic and beautiful that it could almost be a Jakubisko film, but it is, despite bleaker moments, also far more soft and human. It is so interesting that it manages to spin this story together, covering everything from youthful lust to first love - and get so many characters out of it to truly stand out and shine. The father, brother, love interest - even the old men occasionally watching them, are given so much personality - all these little moments played for jokes (some childish) but also with heart, sombre over and undertones - and a sense of almost catching every emotion of the human spectrum. Friendly and familiar, stark and bleak - all wrapped into one - and brought together as quite the glorious symphony.
A surprise stroke of genius, and one of the best films I have seen all year.
9/10