Title/Year: Loves of a Blonde / 1965
Director/Birth Country/Year Born Milos Forman, Czech, 1932
Budget: Unlisted
Gross: Unlisted
Synopsis: Andula is a young working class girl in a Czech factory town. She falls in love with a young pianist who comes to her town for a performance. She leaves her small town behind to go stay with the pianist but is unwelcome when she arrives at his parents house.
Narrative and Visual Keywords: Social commentary on Soviet Union life, factory workers, working class, small town, young love,
Characterization/ Dialogue: The dialogue is very subtle as there is not a lot of story driven speaking parts. The love scenes are pure and don't rely on dialogue for communication.
Camera/lighting/editing technique: This film is shot in a very classical style way. The camera seldom moves and the shot lengths can be extensive. Evenly lit locations make this feel more like a play at times.
Political/ Social Commentary: The Soviet Soldiers are frumpy and old when they arrive to Andula's town. The pianist parents have little to no possessions in their home. The factory girls live in a dormitory that is very small.
Random fact, Etc: Jan Forman went on to make films in America in 1977. His film, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" won 5 Oscars.
Director/Birth Country/Year Born Milos Forman, Czech, 1932
Budget: Unlisted
Gross: Unlisted
Synopsis: Andula is a young working class girl in a Czech factory town. She falls in love with a young pianist who comes to her town for a performance. She leaves her small town behind to go stay with the pianist but is unwelcome when she arrives at his parents house.
Narrative and Visual Keywords: Social commentary on Soviet Union life, factory workers, working class, small town, young love,
Characterization/ Dialogue: The dialogue is very subtle as there is not a lot of story driven speaking parts. The love scenes are pure and don't rely on dialogue for communication.
Camera/lighting/editing technique: This film is shot in a very classical style way. The camera seldom moves and the shot lengths can be extensive. Evenly lit locations make this feel more like a play at times.
Political/ Social Commentary: The Soviet Soldiers are frumpy and old when they arrive to Andula's town. The pianist parents have little to no possessions in their home. The factory girls live in a dormitory that is very small.
Random fact, Etc: Jan Forman went on to make films in America in 1977. His film, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" won 5 Oscars.
The characters in Loves of a Blonde seem disenfranchised by the working class factory life. They never outright speak out against their work, but they seem crestfallen when they are shown in the factory. The work ethic some of the girls show is actually quite involved. The last shot is of Andula airbrushing a shoe. It shows her doing something that actually involves some sort of artistry and not mindless machine work.
2. Were you able to distinguish the use of symbols/ What story elements seemed surreal?
When Andula is given a diamond ring by her former boyfriend she holds it very dear. However, when the love it represents does not show up for month she abandons hope on her boyfriend and turns her attention to the pianist. This shows us that his young girl would rather have love over possessions. When we see the two lovers together is is easy to forget that the oppressive factory working class life is just outside the door.
3. Does the main character seem in control of his/her own destiny? In relation to the individualist vs. the communist perspective? Does the character have a viewpoint concerning the divine or "God"?
Andula is a young girl who is in love. She breaks away from the mold of her factory life by abandoning her dormitory and showing up at the home of Milda, the pianist. Ultimately she is unable to escape the factory life and she must return to the dormitory and tell stories of her young love. The thought of a young girl breaking out of the mold is very dangerous to the ideas of Soviet Russia. Her actions are as if to say, "if your life is going no-where then run away when you're in love." Her "decision" to go to Milda's house shows signs of individuality and the want to control her own destiny. This desire is lost when she realizes that she is unwelcome when she arrives at Milda's house.
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