Peter Jackson, Jiri Madl, Vojtech Vodochodský

The period around 1968 in what was then Czechoslovakia has been depicted many times in film and on television. But the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) saw the world premiere Wavesa new look at the period before and after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops led by the Soviet Union.

“The film revolves around the Czechoslovak Radio International Press Office, a place filled with talented individuals with great insight, language skills and, above all, a commitment to honest, truth-oriented journalism,” whose broadcasts played a key role during the Soviet invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, notes the KVIFF website. “A dynamically shot and enriching epic, it embraces extraordinary heroism in the face of an oppressive regime, the strength of brotherly bonds and the eternal themes of love, betrayal, morality and hope.”

Director and actor Jirí Mádl led the cast, led by Vojtech Vodochodský, of the film that received rave reviews at the festival. During one of his appearances at the festival, Mádl said that while the film was primarily aimed at Czech audiences, he wanted it to be open and accessible to audiences beyond that as well. And he explained that he approached the project like Ben Affleck’s Oscar-winning film. Argo.

Both spoke to The Hollywood Reporter on making a film about an era that is still very important to Czechs, why the film uses historical footage interwoven with directed shots, and why they want to act together in a future project.

At the beginning of the film, it is mentioned that some of its characters are based on real people whose real names are used. To what extent is the character of Tomás Havlík, played by Vojtech, based on a real person?

Madl: That was one of the main problems I had with the script: there were a lot of interesting stories. And I needed to condense all of that into just a few characters. So the character of Tomás is a mix of three people I read about or met and who were technicians. The other reason why this character is 50% fictional is that I needed to be free to evolve in the story. I was also trying to find someone who would be very relatable and vulnerable. Because if you look at journalists, they come back to Prague after big international (reporting) experiences and they are already stars and know what is happening in the world and in Czechoslovakia. If you really want to feel compassion for someone and fear for his home, and in his case for his younger brother, then he has to be an average Czechoslovak. That’s why I wrote this character.

As an actor, how did you prepare for this role?

Vodochodsky: Since my character is fictional, I didn’t have a manual like the other characters and actors. Without any real comparison, we just created something. I don’t know; we did rehearsals with Jirí in his house with (the actor who plays) my little brother. And we just tried to find a kind of authenticity based on what is written in the script and what seems natural to him then.

I’m a brother too. But I’m the little brother with a big sister. Maybe I should ask him and study his emotions. But it wasn’t hard to imagine what it would be like if my little brother or a family member was in great danger.

Madl: I can relate to that. Because I have a brother who is 11 years younger than me and I spent a lot of time with him when he was a kid and I tried to raise him a little bit. It’s a theme that’s in my last two works: there’s a brother and a younger brother. I also named the character after him. I had planned to rename the character later and then maybe I forgot, or I just got used to hearing that name all the time. And maybe that allowed me to stay in the feeling and dig deep inside myself.

How did you decide to incorporate historical images? In some scenes, it feels like your actors are interacting with them or almost part of them.

Vodochodsky:I knew some of the sequences. Jirí had told us about them before we started shooting. He showed us some sequences and explained where they would be in the film.

Madl: We did a camera test to try to combine the two. It was a short scene where they drag all the workers out of the radio building. It lasted maybe 20 or 30 seconds. But it was enough for people to understand, not only those who were involved in the process of mixing the archives with the filmed footage. But then it took a long time, two months daily, during which I had to go through the archives myself.

Vodochodsky:Wow, I didn’t know that.

Madl: Yeah, we had so much material. I spent the whole summer in front of my computer looking and trying to sort through it all. You have material that you like, but first there’s the script. So you take the script, it works like a Christmas tree and you try to decorate it. OK, it belongs here, it doesn’t. Then there are scenes that you didn’t find in the archives. But I said, “This could be similar: an explosion, a fire, a tank on fire, it’s pretty much the same thing.” (Laughs.)

But we had to find these archival scenes that you can film and insert yourself (and your filming scenes) into. For example, the tank is burning and there are soldiers trying to stop the fire. So for that, we did a shot from above and you see our actors trying to stop the fire, so that you really confuse the viewer, the audience, and they get lost in the story. And they just stop to be interested and don’t emotionally disconnect from the story.

Vodochodsky: How did you come up with the idea?

Madl:I think I first saw this kind of approach in Peter Jackson’s film, the documentary about World War I (They will not grow old2018). It was also a pure, calibrated archive with quality sound. But I’ve never seen it implemented directly into a scene, in either direction.

You are both too young to have been alive in 1968. To what extent are the events of that time in the Czech Republic still a matter of concern today?

Vodochodsky:In elementary and high school, we still teach that this is a great moment in our history. So I think 80% of kids know that this happened.

Madl:We know something, but we are very emotionally detached from it because we see it as something very distant, very far away. But suddenly my father, after many years, started telling me the story of where they were at that time. They were returning from Italy (to their home country). My grandfather spoke seven languages ​​fluently. Being far away and hearing what was happening in Czechoslovakia, they could have stayed far away. And he was immediately offered three jobs – in Switzerland, Austria and Italy. But they came back.

I started to get curious because I wanted to know more. And then I came across this story simply because I read a book about the history of Czechoslovakia. There was this little chapter about the international newsroom: 17 pages, no more. I didn’t know that and I asked my friends. People know two sentences from the radio broadcast: “In those early hours, tanks were entering our territory,” or something like that. But then the Russians came, and there was not a single light bulb on in the radio building. Everything was either turned off or destroyed. And then you wonder: “How did they manage to broadcast for five more days?” There is a huge lack of knowledge. So I thought: “I have this treasure in my hands!”

The topic of freedom, including freedom of the press, is a very important topic these days. Did this play a role in your decision to pursue this project?

Vodochodsky:I think when we started filming, we didn’t even imagine how current it would be, how present this danger would be, the censorship, the government, etc. I think it’s getting worse and worse.

Madl:I started working on it in 2012. Back then, the world was different. But the truth is, the more parallels you see, the scarier it becomes.

Vodochodsky:Unfortunately, it’s the right time for this movie. Unfortunately, because we didn’t want it to happen.

The film is so epic that people see the potential for it to travel and go global. Do you have any plans yet for where to show it? Waves beyond the Czech Republic?

Madl:Yeah, we want to win an Oscar. (Laughs.) It is always very difficult to make a film that can be exported. But we live in a time where the stereotype of the public who only watches their national films or American blockbusters is gradually beginning to disappear.

Vodochodsky:We all watch Squid Game or Korean or Vietnamese films, and they get nominated for Oscars. So that barrier, that language barrier and that national barrier, disappears.

What are your upcoming projects ?

Vodochodsky:Well, I’m just an actor. So I’ll wait for a call.

Madl:I will call !

Vodochodsky:I’m doing castings for big movies right now. And I also have some small projects, like series.

Madl:I would like to return to the camera now. I have three films in which I have the main role and next year I would like to devote myself to acting. I have two main roles in the Czech Republic and one in Switzerland. I don’t have a script to shoot as a director yet. But I hope to get something. I have written the scripts for my three films, but I am ready to accept scripts from someone else. We could do something together. (Look at Vodochodsky.)

Vodochodsky:We have this little dream of acting together in a movie but as actors. I’m really curious how it would be. I can’t imagine it because he’s just a director to me now because I haven’t met him as an actor on set.