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The Valley of the Bees

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Wikipedia article




'The Valley of the Bees' is a 1968 Czechoslovak historical drama film directed by Frantiek Vlil. The film follows a young man Ondej who's sent to join Teutonic order by his father. When he flees the order and returns home, his friend Armin is determined to bring him back.

Plot



The film is set in the 13th century. The lord of Vlkov marries much younger Lenora. His son Ondej gives live bats to Lenora as a wedding gift, which enrages his father who almost kills him. He prays for the boy to survive. He promises to God that he will give Ondej to the Teutonic Order if he survives. Ondej is healed and sent to the Baltic Sea, where he joins the Teutonic Order. He befriends Armin who becomes his mentor and protector. Armin participated in the Crusades to the Holy Land and is a fanatic who is devoted to God.

Knight Rotgier tries to leave the order and escapes. Ondej, Armin and other members chase him. He is found by Ondej and tries to convince Ondej to leave the order. Ondej hesitates to arrest him but declines. Rotgier injures him and steals his horse. Rotgier is eventually captured and executed for attacking Ondej. Ondej is punished by penitence for his weakness. Ondej decides to run away. Armin decides to track him down.

Armin travels to Bohemia where he hears about Ondej from charcoal burners who wanted to steal his sword. Armin joins them and when they surprise Ondej, he attacks the one who wanted to steal his sword which makes the other charcoal burners attack him. But Armin draws his sword and kills or scares them away saving Ondej's life. Ondej's sword has been broken in the fight and Armin forces him to go with him. Later, near a brook when Armin bends over to drink, Ondej hits him with a stone which causes Armin to fall unconscious and Ondej escapes.

Ondej returns home only to find out his father is dead. He takes care of his father's business, but feels remorse about what he did to Armin. Ondej falls in love with Lenora and convinces a local priest to marry them. When they are getting married, Armin shows up. Ondej invites him to the wedding but tension between them runs out. Ondej convinces Armin to spend the night in Vlkov. During the night, Armin gets to Lenora's chambers and murders her. He gets caught and Ondej decides to execute him in a similar manner as Rotgier was killed. Armin begs Ondej to return to the order before his death. The film concludes with Ondej's return to Teutonic Order.

Cast



*Petr epek as Ondej

*Jan Kaer as Armin von Heide

*Vra Galatkov as Lenora

*Zdenk Kryznek as Lord of Vlkov

*Miroslav Machek as Brown Friar

*Josef Somr as Rotgier

*Vclav Kotva as Farmer

Production



The film was produced after Vlil's previous film 'Marketa Lazarov'. Marketa was very expensive and it was decided to make another film set in Middle Ages so the sets and costumes could be re-used. However by the time production started the sets from Marketa Lazarov were already destroyed. The screenplay was written by Vlil and Vladimr Krner. Krner was doing research for his novel 'Psen kosa' about Prussian uprisings when he was contacted by Vlil. They quickly wrote the screenplay and the film immediately went into production. Krner released Valley of the Bees as a novel in 1975.

The film was eventually shot at Kuklov monastery ruins near Brloh. The Teutonic order scenes were shot at Czech castles Karltejn and Rab and Polish castles Malborg and Lidzbark Warmiski. Theodor Pitk designed the costumes for the film. Vlil was inspired by historical movies of Ingmar Bergman and Robert Bresson.

Jan Kaer was originally supposed to play both Armin and Ondej. It proved to be technically impossible so Kaer suggested Petr epek for the role of Ondej. The director demanded that ascetic knight Armin needs to be slim, so Kaer was forced to lose 11 kilograms for the role. The film was shot from July to October 1967. Post-production ended in December 1967. The final budget was 4 379 000 Ks.

Release



Theatrical release

The film had a premiere on 17 May 1968 at Kino U Hradeb in Prague. During its theatrical run it only managed to attract 350,000 viewers. The film was re-released in theatres in 1980.

Home video

The film was released on DVD in 2007 by Bonton in the Czech Republic. A Second Run DVD with English subtitles was released in 2010.

Reception



The film received mixed reviews from critics. Many felt that it didn't reach the qualities of 'Marketa Lazarov', which premiered just 4 months earlier. Gustav Francl criticized the casting Jan Kaer, who he felt didn't fit in the role of Armin. The film had better reviews in foreign press and today it is considered one of Vlil's best works.

See also



*List of historical drama films

*Teutonic Knights in popular culture


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