DIRECTED BY: Juraj Herz
FEATURING: Rudolf Hrusínský, Ilja Prachar, Milos Vognic, and Zora Bozinová
PLOT: In this mesmerizing, Gothic horror film, a funerary specialist becomes
obsessed with what he believes to be the nobility of his calling, with terrifyingly tragic and bizarre results.
WHY IT SHOULD MAKE THE LIST: The Cremator treats unusual, morbid, taboo subject matter in a visually dreamy way that is artful without being gimmicky.
COMMENTS: In late 1930′s Prague, Kopfrking (Hrusínský) is a misguided, enigmatic crematorium operator. He is an impeccably groomed, eerie, and meticulous figure, always talking in a hypnotic, soft spoken, poetic manner. He is overly preoccupied with mortality, morbidity, and the human soul, and deeply devoted to the funerary arts.
Kopfrking feels a physical affection for the instrumentality of his trade, lovingly caressing the equipment of the crematory process. He speaks constantly, literally and metaphorically, of death and the liberation of the soul through the process of cremation.
As the story progresses, he becomes increasingly obsessed with his work, finding it glorifying and cathartic. He sees visions of the ghost of his living wife in her youth, along with his future incarnation, as he begins a spiraling descent into fantasy and madness. He is on a mission to free the souls of the deceased (and in time the not-so deceased) through the pyrolization of human flesh, be it living or dead—just as long as that flesh is consumed and vaporized by fire.
The pre-WWII German propaganda machine is enveloping Eastern Europe, polarizing aspiring Nazis and oppositionists. Drawn toward the philosophy of the Third Reich, Kopfrking becomes morbidly obsessed with racial purity and the percentage of German blood flowing within his own veins—literally, to the point of having his vessels opened and the contents examined. While The Cremator is not a raving anti-Nazi film, it uses the political ideology as an allegory for exploring the phenomenon of sweeping, consuming mass delusion and insanity.
The gathering of Nazi forces on the border offers Kopfrking an opportunity to realize his misguided aspirations on a grand scale, one much larger than he could have ever hoped for, one seemingly without limit. Before applying his fervor and passion to the task, he hatches a plan to betray and destroy his own acquaintances, colleagues and family.
While there are elements of black satire in the The Cremator, the movie is so compelling as to nearly overshadow it. The film insidiously and steadily flows to its inevitable and horrifying conclusion like a hot rivulet of liquefied fat.
The production design is crisp and symmetrical. Stanislav Milota’s stunning black and white cinematography is haunting and beautiful. It features successions of extreme closeups that emphasize the slightly grotesque and disturbing features of the biological condition. Milota’s use of black and white film stock’s enhanced tonal range is artfully employed to focus attention on rich textures and multitudes of shades. This gives The Cremator a uniquely unsettling dreamlike quality. The musical score by Zdenek Liska is alluring, phantasmic, and aesthetically intriguing. Viewing The Cremator is akin to experiencing a nightmare that one is reluctant to wake from.
The Cremator was a Czech nominee for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:
I would like to clarify few details from the end of your article – Rudolf Hrušínský is long dead, however he had a son and a grandson of the same name, both of whom are quite succesful contemporary actors, so I guess its easy to get confused. Also, Ladislav Fuks never fled Czechoslovakia (altough he briefly married an Italian) and his work has never been banned – at least not in their entirety. And of course – there is no Czechoslovakia anymore :-)
TP, Thank you for that timely and informative update. I have been misinformed, and I stand corrected. I shall henceforth verify my sources more vigilantly for accuracy. I am invigorated to learn that such an intriguing thinker as Fuks was not as ruthlessly censored in what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia as I was led to believe.
-Pam
Fuks just went on writing novels after 70 and lived all his life in Prague. I warmly recommend “Mister Teodor Mundstock”, writen in the 60s :)