Cesarjev slavček / Císařův slavík / The Emperor’s Nightingale

Cesarjev slavček / Císařův slavík

Češkoslovaška (Češka), 1948, 35mm, barvni/čb, 70'
Brez dialogov; primeren za otroke.
Režija, grafična podoba: Jiří Trnka
Režija igranega dela: Miloš Makovec
Zgodba: Hans Christian Andersen
Scenarij: Jiří Trnka, Jiří Brdečka
Animacija: Zdeněk Hrabě, Jan Kašpar, Stanislav Látal, Břetislav Pojar, Bohuslav Šrámek, Jiří Trnka
Kamera: Ferdinand Pečenka
Montaža: Helena Lebdušková, Jiří Trnka
Glasba: Václav Trojan
Zvok: Josef Zavadil
Igrata: Jaromír Sobota, Helena Patočková
Produkcija: KF a.s. - Jiří Trnka Studio

Mali deček živi sredi puščobnega blišča meščanske graščine. Na voljo ima vse vrste igrač, mehanske igračke, kitajske figurice in celo klavir, ne more pa se igrati z majhno deklico, ki svobodno kot ptiček teka na drugi strani ograje, ki ločuje dečka od zunanjega sveta. Ko deček nekega dne zboli se mu v vročičnih sanjah poraja zgodba, ki jo je bral v Andersenovih pravljicah, vanjo vplete delce svoje lastne izkušnje.

»Trnka je bil neverjetno nadarjen umetnik in obenem izjemno marljiv človek. Slikal je in pisal, rezbaril, kiparil in ilustriral. Ni bil le pisatelj in grafični oblikovalec svojih filmov, pač pa je opravil tudi montažo, oblikoval in izdelal svoje lutke ter lutkovne kostume. Čeprav so ga kritiki pogosto narobe razumeli in napadali, se ni uklonil nobenemu pritisku. Njegovo delo je bilo venomer domišljeno, polno topline, nežnosti, modrosti, humorja in miline. Lutkovni film je uspel dvigniti iz periferije na ugledno mesto uveljavljene umetnosti. Literarne mojstrovine je potegnil v sfero lutkovnega filma ter filozofske koncepte in čustva izražal s takšno zavzetostjo, da so njegovi filmi postali ne le mejniki ustvarjalne preteklosti, pač pa tudi merilo in standard lutkovnega filma prihodnosti.« Vladimír Opěla

Jiří Trnka se je rodil leta 1912 v češkem mestu Plzeň. Od trenutka, ko je znal prijeti pero, je vsak hip posvetil risbi. Kmalu ga je očaral še svet lutkovnega gledališča. Študiral je na praški Univerzi uporabnih umetnosti ter se preživljal kot ilustrator, a vedno je sanjal o tem, kako bi svoje risbe spravil v gibanje. Nekaj časa je vodil gledališče lesenih lutk na praškem Vaclavovem trgu. Takoj ko se je uspel uveljaviti kot animator, pa je skupaj z najtesnejšimi sodelavci, kot je bil Břetislav Pojar, ustanovil lasten studio lutkovnega filma. Studio Bratři v triku (Bratje v majicah, v češčini pa gre za besedno igro, ki pomeni hkrati brate v (filmskem) triku) je postal rojstni kraj prvega češkega animiranega filma. Trnka je delal dan in noč in le dve leti po ustanovitvi studia s sodelavci zaključil prvo celovečerno lutkovno animacijo, Cesarjevega slavčka. Deset let pozneje je Trnka ustvaril film, ki velja za njegovo največjo mojstrovino, lutkovno adaptacijo Shakespearovega Sna kresne noči. Skozi naslednjih dvajset let je njegov studio produciral na desetine filmov, na žalost pa je imel Trnkov neverjeten delovni tempo svoje posledice. Jiří Trnka je umrl leta 1969, v 57. letu starosti. In vendar je v nekaj desetletjih ustvaril in dosegel več, kot je večina ljudi sposobna v vsem življenju. Tudi danes, v dobi računalniške animacije, njegovi filmi s svojo neponovljivo poezijo in nežnostjo očarajo in začarajo gledalca.

Izbor festivalov in nagrad: Pariški filmski festival 1950 (nagrada Méliès), MFF Edinburg 1951 (nagrada francoskih filmskih kritikov), MFF Locarno 1955 (glavna nagrada)

The Emperor's Nightingale / Císařův slavík

Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic), 1948, 35mm, colour/b&w, 70'
No dialogue; suitable for children.
Directed, Graphic Design by: Jiří Trnka
Live Action Direction: Miloš Makovec
Story: Hans Christian Andersen
Adapted for the Screen by: Jiří Trnka, Jiří Brdečka
Animation: Zdeněk Hrabě, Jan Kašpar, Stanislav Látal, Břetislav Pojar, Bohuslav Šrámek, Jiří Trnka
Camera: Ferdinand Pečenka
Editing: Helena Lebdušková, Jiří Trnka
Music: Václav Trojan
Sound: Josef Zavadil
Cast: Jaromír Sobota, Helena Patočková
Production: KF a.s. - Jiří Trnka Studio

A little boy lives surrounded by the gloomy splendour of a grand town house. He has all kinds of playthings, mechanical toys, Chinese figures and a piano to play on, but he cannot play with a little girl, who runs about, free as a bird, outside the gate which separates the boy from the world. He falls ill and, in a fever, dreams the story he has been reading in his Andresen's fairy-tales, in which he interwines the elements of his own experience.

“Trnka was an extraordinarily talented and hard-working individual. He painted and wrote and was a woodcutter, a sculptor, and an illustrator. In all his films he was not only a writer and graphic artist but also an editor, a designer and builder of puppets, and a designer of puppet costumes. Often misunderstood and attacked by the critics, he never bent to any pressures. The work he produced was well-rounded, full of human warmth, tenderness, wisdom, humor, and grace. He succeeded in bringing the puppet film out of the periphery and into mature prominence. He brought the masterworks of literature into the purview of the puppet film and expressed philosophical ideas and emotions with such urgency that his films have become not only a landmark but also a yardstick for puppet films yet to be made.” Vladimír Opěla

Jiří Trnka was born in 1912 in Pilsen and as soon as he could hold a pen in his hand he spent every spare minute drawing. He was also enchanted by the world of puppet theatre. Trnka studied at the University of Applied Arts in Prague and afterwards made a living by illustrating books. But he always dreamt of setting his drawings in motion. For a while, he ran a wooden puppet theatre on Prague's Wenceslas Square. As soon as Trnka established himself as an animator, he and his closest colleagues, including Břetislav Pojar, moved on to set up their own studio of puppet film. The Bratři v triku (or Brothers in T-shirts) Studio, as it was called, became the birthplace of the very first Czech animated film. Trnka worked literally days and nights. Only two years after establishing the puppet film studio, Trnka and his friends completed their first puppet feature, The Emperor's Nightingale. And ten years later Trnka produced what is regarded as his masterpiece - a puppet adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Within the next twenty years, his studio produced dozens of films. Unfortunately, Trnka's remarkable work tempo took its toll. He died in 1969 at the age of only 57. Yet, in a span of just a few decades, he managed to do what others don't achieve in a lifetime. Even today, in the age of computer animation, his films continue to capture viewers with unmatched poetry and tenderness.

Selected Festivals and Awards: Paris Film Festival 1950 (Méliès Prize), Edinburgh IFF 1951 (The prize of the French film critics), Locarno IFF 1955 (First Prize)