LECTURE & FILM: VERA CHYTILOVÁ
“Between Feminism and Misandry: PASTI, PASTI, PASTICKY (CZ 1998).”
Lecture by Prof. Dr. Ewa Mazierska (University of Central Lancashire).
Chytilová is often referred to as a feminist filmmaker, but looking at some of her films, one wonders if the term ‘misandric’ would not be more appropriate.
Her film PASTI, PASTI, PASTICKY is one of these films, for it is populated by men who disregard, exploit and mistreat women, and by women who despise men. The most important of these is a young veterinarian named Lenka, who gets even with these brutal men by literally stripping them of their male power.
The story is told in a style reminiscent of many of Chytilová’s earlier films: it is fast-paced and seemingly chaotic at first, with several parallel storylines and many characters whose connections to one another are difficult to discern.
But PASTI, PASTI, PASTICKY also grapples with the system that replaced “communism” in Czechoslovakia and other Eastern European countries. The director observes capitalism and parliamentary democracy as deeply corrupt systems, with a “network of boys” of politicians and businessmen who decide what is best – for them, and not for the population.
Ewa Mazierska is a professor of film studies at the University of Central Lancashire. She is the author and editor of more than thirty books on film and popular music.
Film:
PASTI, PASTI, PASTICKY.
Traps
CZ 1998. Director: Vera Chytilová
Lecture recorded on July 7th, 2022 in the cinema of the DFF.
