Hotel for Strangers

Audience Choice Film Cycle

Anniversary

Hotel for Strangers
Directed by Antonín Máša, Czechoslovakia 1966, 103 min.

A "whirlwind of love and death," this film is one of Antonín Máša’s contributions to the treasure trove of the Czechoslovak New Wave. Based on his own story and screenplay, co-written with cinematographer Ivan Šlapeta, the film presents a deliberately enigmatic narrative that echoes Alain Resnais’ legendary French film Last Year at Marienbad(1961). Like that film, the story of the young poet Petr Hudec questions the possibility of rational and definitive understanding of the world around us. In the confusing microcosm of the titular hotel, Hudec seeks—and tries to recognize—pure love, only to find alienation and death. This stylized Art Nouveau fantasy, which also resonates with the work of Franz Kafka, stands as an unusual experiment in Czech cinema. It also stands apart from Máša’s broader directorial output, which typically leaned toward more concrete psychological or social themes.

The role of poet Petr Hudec marked the film debut of Petr Čepek. By coincidence, this charismatic and outstanding actor can also be seen by festival audiences in two other films in which he played the lead—Witness of a Dying Time and his final film, Faust’s Lesson. Most of the supporting cast was drawn from the Činoherní klub (Drama Club), at the time arguably the most important Czech theater ensemble. The screening commemorates the 60th anniversary of the theater and honors one of its founders, Mr. Jaromír Vostrý—a man of many professions (dramaturge, theater theorist, historian, director, publicist...)—who passed away this spring.

Lecturer's Introduction: Film Historian Jan Lukeš

In Original Version.