The Emperor and the Golem

Western audiences not familiar with the individual nature of the counties of Eastern Europe are probably unaware that each country has a very distinct character: Czech cinema, for example, has an understated whimsy quite unlike its neighbours.

While the prospect of a lavish version in colour of the old Czech legend of the Golem made in the town where it originated is promising, the Golem itself - although in close up it certainly emits a fearsome red glow - sadly takes a back seat to the veteran comedian Jan Werich and is absent for much of the film's considerable length until finally (SLIGHT SPOILER COMING:) brought on for the finale.

What a wonderful movie full of inspiring ideas! A well-scripted, well-acted, and on overall rich movie from the era of Rudolph II, a Holy Roman Emperor of the 16th century, resident in Prague, the central residence of the Roman Empire of the 1600s.

This film images a central theme revolving around the philosophical idea expressed first by Montesquieu in the 18th century, that an absolute concentration of power in the hand of one ruler would eventually lead to tyranny and oppression of the people. This movie portrays this very well by the expressive acting of Werich, a Czechoslowak classic actor.

A movie well overlooked in the West for its main theme can only be viewed if you buy it in Prague on some of the DVDs which are still in distribution.