Karlovy Vary comes to Prague

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is the biggest film event of the year in the Czech Republic. This year's program featured 200 new films from around the world, as well as freshly restored prints of classic films and retrospectives celebrating the contributions of notable filmmakers from years past.

For many, however, a special trip to the famous spa town during the festival isn't in the cards. But the good folks at the Aero and Světozor theaters have once again secured a smart selection of festival films to screen in Prague, starting this weekend. The following is just a sampling of some of the more intriguing titles accessible to English-language audiences. For a complete schedule, visit Kinosvetozor.cz/en, and click on the "Blocks & festivals" icon.

A Serious Man-USA, 2009. Joel and Ethan Coen, directors. This black comedy, written and directed by the Coen brothers, tells the tale of Larry Gopnik (played by the relatively unknown Michael Stuhlbarg), a suburban academic who endures incessant and sometimes absurd challenges as he attempts to maintain stability and family ties in late '60s America. Despite being named to the Top 10 lists of The American Film Institute and National Board of Review last year, A Serious Man received a very limited release, so don't miss this opportunity to see it on the big screen. Světozor, July 14 at 6:30; Aero, July 20 at 8:30

The Mosquito Net (La Mosquitera)-Spain, 2010. Agustí Vila, director. The third feature film by the Catalan writer-director Agustí Vila features Geraldine Chaplin in the entirely silent role of an Alzheimer's suffer. Despite her own lack of dialogue, Chaplin described the story as "one of the three best scripts I have ever read." The film offers a meditation on the stagnation of happiness in everyday life, with characters who come to believe that the only thing to fear is the moment when, metaphorically speaking, still water becomes putrid and, to quote the director, the mosquitoes "turn into wolves." Aero, July 13 at 6; Světozor, July 14 at 4

Black Narcissus-UK, 1947. Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell, directors. Included in this year's festival as part of a tribute to the famous Powell/Pressburger team, this luminous psychological drama examines the tensions and apprehensions of a group of nuns working in a remote Himalayan valley. Deborah Kerr, Sabu, David Farrar and Flora Robson star. Světozor, July 14 at 8:30 and July 20 at 4

The Red Shoes-UK, 1948. Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell, directors. Pressburger and Powell's 10th collaboration features a story within a story about a young ballet dancer who joins a famous company and receives the lead role in a ballet called The Red Shoes, based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of the same name. Based in part on the Andersen story, the film was also reputedly inspired by the real-life meeting of Sergei Diaghilev with the ballerina Diana Gould. The beneficiary of an extensive digital restoration, this Technicolor classic is well worth a look. Světozor, July 12 at 9; Aero, July 17 at 5

There Are Things You Don't Know (Chiz-haie hast keh nemidani)-Iran, 2010. Fardin Saheb Zamani, director. This Iranian nod to Scorsese's Taxi Driver concerns the burgeoning relationship between a disconsolate taxi driver in Tehran, a beautiful and secretive woman he meets while working, and the owner of a local café. Themes of alienation and dreams dashed by the indignities of life come to the fore as the trio become more intimate, ruminating over their respective frustrations. Světozor, July 11 at 8:30; Aero, July 16 at 6

Crazy Heart-USA, 2009. Scott Cooper, director. Jeff Bridges won an Oscar and Golden Globe for his portrayal of Otis "Bad" Blake, a washed-up country singer reduced to one-night stands in the Southwest United States. Divorced and estranged from his son, he finds a second chance with a younger woman. The film also won an Oscar for best original song ("The Weary Kind") and another 15 awards from various professional and critics' groups. Aero, July 15 at 8:30; Světozor, July 20 at 9

James Walling can be reached at
jwalling@praguepost.com