''Oil Lamps'' ( cs, Petrolejové lampy) is a 1971 Czechoslovak

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Juraj Herz Juraj Herz (4 September 1934 – 8 April 2018) was a Czechoslovak film director, actor, and scene designer, associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement of the 1960s. He is best known for his 1969 horror/black comedy '' The Cremator'', of ...

. It competed in the

1972 Cannes Film Festival The 25th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 4 to 19 May 1972. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian films ''The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' by Elio Petri and ''The Mattei Affair'' by Francesco Rosi. The festival opened with the French film ...

. It is based on a novel by

Jaroslav Havlíček Jaroslav Havlíček (3 February 1896 – 7 April 1943) was a Czech novelist. He was an exponent of naturalism and psychological novel in Czech literature. Life Jaroslav Havlíček was born in a teacher's family in Jilemnice, Liberec Region. He ...

Plot

In a small Czech town named

Jilemnice Jilemnice (; german: Starkenbach) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,400 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument ...

lives a brave and jovial woman Štěpa Kiliánová, who enjoys her independent life but also desires to marry and have a family. The latter proves difficult as most potential suitors do not find her to be matching ideals of a 1900s wife. Out of excessive trust and desire to marry, she marries her cousin, a sardonic, reclusive man, former lieutenant and gambler Pavel Malina, whose only wish is to find peace and forget the past. Meanwhile the groom's father and older brother are interested in Štěpa's inheritance to save their farm from ruin. The couple live through unrequited love, dislike and disappointment on Štěpa's side, since her husband does not consummate the marriage because of his

impotence Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...

, due to the

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

he caught during his excessive life-style time in the army.

Cast

Iva Janžurová Iva Janžurová (born 19 May 1941) is a Czech actress. She attended school in České Budějovice and in 1963, she graduated from the Faculty of Theatre at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In 1964, she became the main member of Vinohra ...

as Štěpa Kiliánová *

Petr Čepek Petr Čepek (16 September 1940 – 20 September 1994) was a Czech actor. Life He studied acting at Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague at the same class as Ladislav Mrkvička, Josef Abrhám, Jiří Krampol or Jana Drbo ...

as Pavel Malina *

Marie Rosůlková Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tr ...

as Mother *

Ota Sklenčka Ota Sklenčka (19 December 1919 in Hradec Králové – 10 October 1993 in Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the ...

as Father * Vladimír Jedenáctík as Uncle *

Karel Černoch Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley, talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel, Dutch painter Business * Karel Electronics, a Turkish electronics manufacturer * ...

as Synáček * Jaroslav Blažek as Trakl * Václav Vondráček as Tabetic Machoň

References

External links

* 1971 films 1971 drama films Czech drama films Czechoslovak drama films 1970s Czech-language films Films directed by Juraj Herz 1970s Czech films {{1970s-drama-film-stub