The Cremator is a powerful, dark and disturbing Czech film from 1969. I was thoroughly unaware of this movie and knew nothing about it. It's shot in black and white and naturally the dialog is in Czech. Don't let that scare you off.
I find there is so much to say about The Cremator, but I hope to keep this succinct. The movie revolves around Karel a crematorium employee who is obsessed with death and sees death as a means to prevent suffering and a means to purity. The film is set during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia.
Karel is clearly off balance to begin, but he seems to be further manipulated and influenced by a friend who is a Nazi party member. This friend reminds Karel how important blood and heritage are and we see Karel change from a pro Chech viewpoint to a pro German viewpoint. We see Karel view his family very differently. At the beginning of the film he is loving towards them, but as his viewpoint changes he seems disturbed at his wife's and Children's Jewish heritage. He also expresses regret that his son is "effeminate, and not like him." I will leave the plot points there so as not to give anything else away. I see this film listed as a comedy, and humor is different for different people. I found no humor in this. Yes, Karel says ridiculous things, but to me it's not funny. His madness is disturbing. He believes what he says. His thoughts immerse him. There is a surrealism to this movie. Beautifully shot, expertly edited.
Madness, manipulation, murder and the casual even mundane nature in which these things are felt by Karel is both powerful and unnerving. This is a fantastic film. I could go on and on, but I will leave it as is. Go see this film.
I find there is so much to say about The Cremator, but I hope to keep this succinct. The movie revolves around Karel a crematorium employee who is obsessed with death and sees death as a means to prevent suffering and a means to purity. The film is set during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia.
Karel is clearly off balance to begin, but he seems to be further manipulated and influenced by a friend who is a Nazi party member. This friend reminds Karel how important blood and heritage are and we see Karel change from a pro Chech viewpoint to a pro German viewpoint. We see Karel view his family very differently. At the beginning of the film he is loving towards them, but as his viewpoint changes he seems disturbed at his wife's and Children's Jewish heritage. He also expresses regret that his son is "effeminate, and not like him." I will leave the plot points there so as not to give anything else away. I see this film listed as a comedy, and humor is different for different people. I found no humor in this. Yes, Karel says ridiculous things, but to me it's not funny. His madness is disturbing. He believes what he says. His thoughts immerse him. There is a surrealism to this movie. Beautifully shot, expertly edited.
Madness, manipulation, murder and the casual even mundane nature in which these things are felt by Karel is both powerful and unnerving. This is a fantastic film. I could go on and on, but I will leave it as is. Go see this film.