🎬 Citizens of Unreason #1: ‘Ucho’ (1970)

‘Citizens of Unreason’ peers into the claustrophobic worlds of suspicion, censorship, and quiet revolt under the Soviet gaze, idem the fragile human logic that persists when reason itself is policed.

UCHO (The Ear)
Karel Kachyňa | 1970 | Czechoslovakia | 94’ | EN subs

One of the most haunting films to emerge from the Czechoslovak New Wave, The Ear / Ucho is a tense and intimate psychological drama that was banned for decades and only released in 1990. 

Set during a single night in 1950s Prague, the story follows Ludvik, a senior ministry official, and his wife Anna as they return home from a government reception. Locked out, forced to enter through the cellar, and confronted with a house that shows signs of intrusion. An anxious and desperate night ensues, as the couple break down their own relationship. Morning brings fatigue, and a terrifying sobering reality: it isn’t over; the nightmare continues

The film caused many headaches for its authors during the “Normalisation”, screenwriter Jan Procházka found himself blacklisted. Kachyňa, while able to continue directing, was forced to make creative compromises.