Spalovac Mrtvol (1968)
Genre: Drama / Horror
Duration: 95 minuten
Alternative titles: The Cremator / De Lijkverbrander / Spalovač Mrtvol
Country:
Czechoslovakia
Directed by: Juraj Herz
Stars: Vlasta Chramostová, Rudolf Hrušínský and Jirí Menzel
IMDb score:
8,0 (12.694)
Releasedate: 14 March 1969
Spalovac Mrtvol plot
"NO ONE WILL SUFFER."
In Prague, during the Nazi occupation, the brave Karl Kopfrkingl is in charge of a huge complex that serves as a crematorium. The man takes his work very seriously - something he likes to elaborate on in lengthy monologues. His love for his work begins to take on macabre proportions when Kopfrkingl comes to believe that as a cremator, he ensures the liberation of the deceased's soul. He sees death as a redemption and as a kind of messiah he considers it his task to help redeem many souls.
Actors and actresses
Karel Kopfrkingl
Lakmé / Dagmar
Zina
Mili
Walter Reinke
Reinkeová
Bettleheim
Strauss
Fenek
Vrána
Reviews & comments
baspls
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- 4118 messages
- 1673 votes
The Cremator is set in Prague, which was annexed by Nazi Germany. A crematorium worker takes his job very seriously and believes he can save people's souls with his ovens. He is completely obsessed with death and with distant Tibet. According to him, death is a humanitarian way to spare suffering. Then he is asked to join the Nazi collaborators' party and becomes just as convinced of their ideas.
The Cremator is a very special piece of film from the Czechs. The concept seemed very familiar to me. Strongly reminiscent of Red Dragon, Santa Sangre and the work of Darren Aronofsky how the killer here is convinced of his holy mission.
In addition, the film is also shot very differently. The story is told mainly through close-ups. The transitions were remarkable because the reaction shot of the current scene is always the beginning of the next scene. This makes the transitions like in a dream, someone has suddenly changed location.
It took a while before everything really got going, but I thought the last part of the film in which the main character mixes his own obsession with the racial doctrine of the Nazis and therefore decides to murder his entire family was very strong. .
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 11421 messages
- 6719 votes
Difficult.
Unfortunately, a film game could not ignore this film. I would never have noticed it anyway if this title had not been conjured up by other people, but as I am sometimes happy with discoveries, I would rather not have seen this one. It doesn't surprise me much that this film has a top 250 ranking on Letterboxd.
Apparently the film was supposed to be partly a comedy. I am astonished by that, because I don't actually see many humorous elements. Maybe a bit in the exaggerated display of the characters. You will not often find such a figure as Hrušínský in films. He does quite well, but mainly because his voice gives him a very special charm.
Visually, the film tries to appear fairly experimental, but it rarely catches on. The best parts come from the use of the camera. A number of unusual camera angles as well as a nice finale, but everything is fairly repetitive and old-fashioned. The montages of paintings or fairly psychological images are rather wooden and a feeling of claustrophobia or intensity is never really achieved.
However, what really kills it is the pace itself. We listen to a guy talking like crazy for 100 minutes. It may represent a descent into madness, but I thought it was mostly a huge dose of nonsense. Wrapped in intelligent and dreamy dialogues that mainly mislead you. Great for some of us to analyze, of course, but for me especially good to forget. All in all, I couldn't get through it at all, and the fact that it has to rumble on for 100 minutes makes it an intensely tiring experience that doesn't catch on.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
Not an easy film that I had to persevere through to get into the film. It is a very evocative film in which you are completely surrendered to Kopfrkingl's thought process, what a difficult name that man has. He is of the principle that earthly suffering should be avoided at all times. Cremation after death ensures that the soul is free and can subsequently reincarnate. All quite noble. Well, the man is quite pompous, as if he has a divine task to perform.
It only gets a bit crazy when you start making assumptions yourself and take into account the time period you are in. Europe has been introduced to the Nazis and the Anschluss seems to me to have already taken place. The dreary monologues, no dialogues, not easy to keep you interested.
Fortunately, the visual offers some extras. Nice close-ups of the characters and the camera is played well. Strange and special, solid for me, but not the masterpiece that some people see.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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