5.2 /10 1 Votes5.2
3.3/5 Mubi Music by Petr Mandel Release date 1 December 1987 Cinematography Jaroslav Brabec | 1/5 Flickchart 6.8/10 IMDb Produced by Jiří Beránek Edited by Eva Bobková Initial release 1987 Written by Karel Steigerwald | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Michaela KuklováJan PotměšilLubor TokošAntonie Hegerlíková Cast Jan Potměšil, Lubor Tokoš, Antonie Hegerlíková Similar The Watermill Princess, Tajemství staré bambitky, Ruffiano and Sweeteeth, Cave of the Golden Rose V, The Cave of the Golden R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Princess Jasnenka and the Flying Shoemaker (Czech: O princezně Jasněnce a létajícím ševci) is a 1987 Czechoslovak fantasy film directed by Zdeněk Troška and starring Michaela Kuklová and Jan Potměšil. It is based on a fairy tale by Czech writer Jan Drda.
Contents
The film was shot in castles in Bohemia and Moravia. In later years, it has been screened in film festivals and is recalled as a classic by the national broadcaster TV Nova.
Plot
The beautiful Princess Jasněnka runs afoul of a powerful evil witch. Her father, the king, imprisons her in a tower. Jíra, a shoemaker, designs leather wings that allow him to fly, and comes across the tower where Jasněnka is trapped. The two fall in love, and Jíra returns to the tower to take Jasněnka away, to the horror of the castle staff who believe Jíra is Lucifer.
Jasněnka and Jíra marry, but her two enemy witches are determined to shatter their happiness. They force Jasněnka to make a mess in the couple's kitchen, expecting Jíra will beat her, but when he arrives he finds it funny. The witches also concoct a potion to erase memory that Jíra falls victim to, but he succeeds in remembering his identity.
Cast
Production
Director Zdeněk Troška made several fairy tale films, often following patterns where a young man ventures from a rural area to find love and defeat corrupt enemies. His other films in this vein include The Loveliest Riddle, Princess from the Mill and its sequel.
For Princess Jasnenka and the Flying Shoemaker, Troška and screenwriter Karel Steigerwald adapted a fairy story by Czech writer and Communist Party member Jan Drda. It was produced by Barrandov Studios, based in Prague. Some of the film was shot in the castles Bouzov and Vítkovec, the latter of which is close to Holany. For the scene where Jira rescues Jasnenka from the tower, an explosion and fire occurred during filming, frightening the lead actors. Troška noted Michaela Kuklová, who was 17 at the time, wept in fear. Jira's wings were based on a 15th century drawing by artist Leonardo da Vinci.
Release
The film was released in theatres in Czechoslovakia on 1 December 1987. Its English language titles include Princess Jasnenka and the Flying Shoemaker, and Princess Jasna and the Flying Cobbler. In September 2002, it was screened in a series called the Week of Czech and Slovak Films in Pretoria, South Africa. A repeat showing occurred during Film Week in Cape Town during September and October 2002.
The film was screened in a Contemporary Czech Film international festival in Zimbabwe in October and November 2002. It afterwards had a DVD release in the Czech Republic on 1 March 2004.
Reception
The German film lexicon Zweitausendeins complimented the imaginative design of Princess Jasnenka and the Flying Shoemaker. Author Peter Harnes wrote that Troška's films all fell short of the work of Jiří Trnka and Jan Švankmajer. In 2013, the Czech TV Nova called the film a favourite.