Unusual love triangle (and cows) at centre of new Bohdan Sláma film Country Teacher
The latest film by the Czech director Bohdan Sláma Venkovský Učitel – Country Teacher – opened at cinemas around the Czech Republic on Thursday. In keeping with its creator’s previous pictures, Venkovský Učitel is a naturalistic and poignant drama. But the love triangle at its centre is rather unusual in the context of Czech cinema.
To elaborate on its creator’s description, in Country Teacher a hard-done-by local woman approaching middle age falls for the teacher of the title, a sensitive soul whose reasons for moving to the middle of nowhere are unclear. He in turn has a crush on the woman’s son, a rather rebellious boy in his late teens. Zuzana Bydžovská as the mother, Pavel Liška as the teacher and newcomer Ladislav Šedivý as the son all put in excellent performances.
As for the theme, it is an unusual one for Czech cinema. But Bohdan Slama insists it is of a piece with his two previous pictures.
“In theme I think it has the same subject – people looking for love. I feel like we’re continuously working out this theme.”
“Yeah, for Maria, for this woman - Zuzana Bydžovská is a great actress and I wanted to work with her. It was from her I got this idea of the character of Maria.”
Your last film Štěstí – or Something like Happiness in English – had a lot of international success. Did the fact that your name was perhaps better known abroad after your last film have any influence on the making of the new film? Were you thinking, this could work internationally?
“I would say first that the success of our last films gave me the chance to work on this project. The second thing is sure, I’m thinking for an international audience, that the story must be understandable. But it’s normal, the subject is a human theme – and humans are living all over the world…”
“My first impression was generally good, but I felt a kind of…debt to the script, because I know Bohdan a bit and I know how he expresses himself…It was a very sensitive subject for him and he was waiting expectantly on my reaction and I told him clearly what I liked and didn’t like. Later he only remembered my reservations. He was hurt and started to doubt himself, so we had to kind of find our way back to one another again.”
Pavel Strnad of Negativ films has produced all three of Bohdan Sláma's films to date:
After many years of working together, how would actor Pavel Liška describe Sláma as a director?
“I think the most accurate description would be honest. Bohdan wouldn’t be able to start working on a film if he didn’t have a strong inner need to speak about something, to touch people in some way, or to engage with some subject. That’s what makes his films ordinary – because he only talks about things which he himself knows something about. His themes are ordinary, but that’s why his films are so good – and, in the end, not ordinary.”
“Those cows are very intelligent, very empathetic, and they really co-operated nicely with the whole team.”
“I was nearly three years working on a farm in Germany, feeding 70 horses. So I’m used to being with animals and I like it very much.”
What about the actors – was it a bit harder for them?
“(laughs) They…especially the actress Zuzana Bydžovská, she really felt close to the cows and she took it so emotionally, what’s happening with them, and this birth. So it was a big experience for us with the animals.”
Actor Pavel Liška is not a country boy himself – but says he thoroughly enjoyed the experience of making Country Teacher:
“I learned a lot. I was there as cows gave birth and that was fascinating. We lived in the country for two months…but actually working on a farm must be incredibly hard work. But still it’s just beautiful – beautiful!”
