QUICK AND DIRTY: LIVE FROM KARLOVY VARY
Thirteen-year-old Karolinka (Katerina Falbrová) is a beautiful and shy addition to a famous girls choir in Prague during the 1990s. The group is under the purview of choirmaster Vitek Macha (Juraj Loj), a handsome and cocky thirty-something-year-old. The seemingly liberating environment is in reality strict and oppressive. A girl is brutally dismissed in front of her peers because she failed to memorise her lines. Vitek repeatedly humiliates and manipulates the female adolescents with subtle and also not-so-subtle threats of all sorts.
In addition to her unpleasant master, Karolinka also has to deal with bullying from the jealous girls. Her clothes are taken while she is in the shower, leaving the teen to run naked to her room. And she gets locked outside in the cold wearing only her towel, in an episode that could have serious repercussions for her physical health, her mental weelbeing and her career. Her family are not particularly concerned about Karolinka’s condition. They are just delighted that their daughter has joined such a prestigious institution.
Much of the film takes place in a magnificent country house during winter, in a mountainous landscape covered with snow. The gorgeous settings are deceptively soothing. The large corridors, high ceilings and wooden floors provide the ambitious singers with comfort and warmth, yet not with the security that they require. The danger resides within the majestic abode.
What starts out as a tale of teenage insecurity and vulnerability slowly morphs into a story of sexual abuse – a slow, quiet and credible one. The predator isn’t an ugly and frothing beast lurking in the shadows, but instead an attractive and respectable young man in a position of power. The film draws from the real-life story of Bohumil Kulínský – the maestro of the acclaimed children’s ensemble Bambini di Praga imprisoned for rape -, even if it does not openly acknowledge the connection.
There is a very loose suggestion that Vitek has slept with some of the girls: it is claimed that the choir members must spend some time with the formidable man in order to climb to the top. That too is never overtly illustrated. Instead the focus is on Vitek’s interest in Karolinka. He repeatedly insists that they visit the sauna together because that’s “good for the immunity”. But it isn’t until the end of the story that the act becomes consummated. The final scenes are very powerful, and bursting with meaningful symbolisms. Both Falbrová and Loj deliver very strong performances, as do the equally auspicious suppirting actors.
Not everything else works in the film. This 105-minute film drags for too long until it finally picks up some momentum. Some of the developments in the first half are difficult to follow unless you have some knowledge of choir singing. And some of the micro-conflicts – particularly Karolinka’s relationship with the other girls – don’t coalesce into a more robust whole. Her family relations too remain somewhat blurry. As a result, the plot has too many loose ends, and some of the subtleties morph into platitudes.
Broken Voices just premiered in the Crystal Globe section of the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
