I have a little scar here

"Blonde Love" (1965) is another masterpiece by Milos Foreman after "Black Peter". Andra, a blonde girl who works in a shoe factory in Zluk, Czech Republic, told her girlfriend Marie about her relationship with Prague pianist Mida. Andra had a boyfriend Dongda before, but the stingy Dongda made her very upset and broke up after that.

At a military-civilian dance party, three soldiers with wives met the three girls at the table: Andrera, Marie and Jeanne, invited them to drink beer, invited them to dance, and then they wanted to invite them to go with them. Forest play, but was rejected by the indecisive girl. It happened that the ballroom pianist Mida witnessed this scene, so he found a chance to chat with Andra, but unexpectedly, unable to withstand his warm invitation, the two lived together for one night. The three soldiers kept arguing over the three girls, and in the end only one soldier was able to sleep with the other woman.

Surprisingly, in the Czech social system at that time, the director made such a bold film, which is really admirable. It is no wonder that after the "Prague Spring" in 1968, the director fled to the United States. Of course, compared to the socialist countries we know well, Eastern Europe was relatively peaceful back then. At least bars, classical and pop music, and normal love were not regarded as bourgeois poisonous weeds, and they were not like my country’s “Cultural Revolution”. extreme. Just looking at the huge dance scene in this film is jaw-dropping.

The details of this dance party are extremely amusing. First, the three soldiers asked the waiter to deliver wine to the opposite Andra, but he sent it to the next table, which made them feel ashamed and shrank their necks. As a result, they asked the waiter to change it. When the waiter brought the wine to Andra and the others, it was the woman's turn to be embarrassed.

Interestingly, at this time, one of the soldiers took off the ring because he was going to dance with the girl and was afraid that the girl would know that he was married. As a result, the ring slipped to the feet of the unhappy woman at the table, and he had to crawl on the table in embarrassment. Underneath they peeled off their feet to get the rings. Presumably the boring life in the military camp made them feel ashamed once they came out to see a woman.

In another scene, the female factory counselor calls a meeting of the female workers, and she says, "Chastity for young girls is not a cliché, without it, they won't care about you...Associating with a humble person who will love you for life, it's It's worth it." In fact, this kind of education is still necessary in factories where female workers gather, at least to give them a psychological understanding, this is not a blunt preaching. This also shows that the overall social environment in the Czech Republic at that time was fairly enlightened and accessible.

Andra hugged Dongda sweetly that night. She asks Dongda if she has a girlfriend. He hesitated at first, and then when pressed, he repeatedly shouted, "I don't have a girlfriend in Prague." It seemed to reassure her. She said, "I committed suicide, my parents always quarreled, and later divorced, you see, I have a small scar here." She showed him the wrist where the pulse had been cut. Dongda said that my parents were also divorced. It can be said to be sympathetic. Andra is a girl who is gentle and longing for solid love.

Since the night with Dongda, she has been cherishing this beautiful expectation, so she took a suitcase and drove to Prague, where she found Dongda's home. Dongda's parents are not divorced, and they argue all night over the arrival of Andra. Her father wanted her to stay overnight, but she had nowhere to go. The mother said that she should not be taken in, and she did not know what she was here for. The two kept chatting until Andra fell asleep, and she slept on the cot in the living room. The couple were arguing again in the bedroom. Mother said didn't she know he was engaged early. My father said that this kid was messing around with other people and that he had to get married sooner.

In the middle of the night, Dongda came home, startled. The family of three huddled together in one bed and kept arguing over Andra, which made Andra, who was curled up in the living room, very sad. She was deceived. This is just another sad place for her. At this time, the beautiful music "Song of Solveig" "Ah..." sounded, and people felt like a heartbroken person in the end of the world.

The camera returns to reality and Andra is calmly speaking to Marie. The sad Andra knows that this love is hopeless, but she is still full of expectations, just like the song "Winter will stay soon, spring will leave, summer flowers will wither, winter leaves will fade. No matter the time is ruthless, I believe you will come, I Unswerving day and night, waiting faithfully. Ah...ah...ah..."

2013, 12, 13

From the film critic collection "Invisible Movies" published by Haitian Publishing House