MovieChat Forums > Marketa Lazarová (1967) Discussion > Anyone else have trouble following this?

Anyone else have trouble following this?


I got the basics of what is going on, but a lot of the story doesn't really make sense and I'm having trouble following what is going on. Any one else have this problem?

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Yeah, the narrative style did seem to lend itself to a sort of dreamlike quality. I could grasp the basics of what happened in the film but I did find myself feeling slightly confused about how certain characters and events related to each other, more in the first part of the film. I didn't really mind that though as I found myself enraptured with the images and sounds. Multiple viewings probably helps.

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Yeah... I have no idea what happened in this movie at all. I wouldn't even go so far as to say I got 'the basics'.

It is almost as long, and as impenetrable to me as "Andrei Rublev", but it has a certain energy and style I can at least appreciate that made me think more of "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors"... In any case, I'm not afraid to admit I'm totally out of my element with all these films.


--- grethiwha -------- My Favourite Films:
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Of course. It's actually a very simple plot, but the director's seemingly deliberate narrative obfuscation renders it incomprehensible at times. I had very little idea of who was who or what the hell they were doing to each other even after 45 minutes. I did manage to get a tenuous grasp on it about an hour in, but could never completely shake the feeling of needless confusion.

Absolutely stunning cinematography though. Probably the most starkly beautiful snowscapes ever captured on film. It's also unparalelled as an utterly nightmarish evocation of medieval times. Just about made up for the frustrating storytelling method and ridiculously long running time.

It really should be up to a full hour shorter. Would have been much more impactful as a brutal 100 minute impressionistic nightmare, rather than this weirdly disorienting historical epic it ends up being. 7/10.

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Yes I also had a hard time following the movie. I actually had to watch it again because not only was I lost the first time but I felt compelled to go back and try and connect the dots and once I did the second time I felt I had a good grasp of the basic. Then the third time I watched it I finally clicked everything and all I can say this movie is quite phenomenal. I can see comparisons to Andrei Rublev which I think is a great movie as well. My suggestion would be unless you we're to bored to watch it I would suggest watching it at least 3 or 4 times and you will really learn to see the movie for how simple it is but how extraordinary it is. Cheers.

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It really should be up to a full hour shorter. Would have been much more impactful as a brutal 100 minute impressionistic nightmare, rather than this weirdly disorienting historical epic it ends up being.

Absolutely agree with you on this.

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I had a little trouble following the film on my first watch, being confused due to the abundance of characters, their actions, and the different locations. On my second watch, the story was much easier to follow. It is a straightforward story once you find out what happens and are able to reconnect the dots in the early parts of the film.

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Didn't follow the story that much when I watched it.

It seems to skip between times, has narration from other scenes over what you're seeing at times, very uniquely structured for sure.

I approached it the same way I approach life. I didn't expect it to all make sense, just let it wash over me and accept it the way it is.

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[deleted]

Yep, I had the same problem. It was long, slow, dull and semi-incomprehensible. I thought of abandoning the attempt after about a half hour, but I soldiered on to the end. Several critics recommend seeing it more than once, but nope, not for me.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, or doesn't.

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It was also about an hour too long. Borrrrring.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, or doesn't.

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A lot of black and white movies with non-linear narratives give me fits. I have a bit of face blindness, so it's really difficult for me to follow movies like this at times. But whenever I get confused by a movie, I'll read the plot on wikipedia and then either start over or keep watching if I'm no longer confused. Definitely had to do that with this movie.

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