The Fifth Horseman is Fear
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''The Fifth Horseman Is Fear'' ( cs, A pátý jezdec je strach) is a 1965
Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...
film about
the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
that was directed by Zbyněk Brynych. Instead of depicting
gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. History ...
s and
concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
, the film examines the subtler but equally debilitating mental effects of oppression. It gets its name from the story of the ''
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand t ...
'' written about in the
Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
. The film uses
expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
cinematography, and its film score is set to discordant piano music.


Plot

Set in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, the film follows Dr. Braun, a Jewish doctor forbidden to practice medicine. He instead works for German officials, cataloging confiscated Jewish property. All Braun wants to do is survive, but his pragmatic mentality is challenged when an injured resistance fighter stumbles into his apartment building. A quest for
morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...
leads Dr. Braun through his tortured city, where fear eats away at the social structure. Superficially, the city might appear to be normal, but hallucinations, awkward outbursts, and nervous, self-conscious behavior make it clear that society is falling apart. Although images of the Holocaust are never seen, its devastation is understood through an overarching sense of destitution and fear. As Dr. Braun travels through the seedy undergrounds of Prague and back up to his apartment building—where a long winding staircase connects the lives of all his eccentric neighbors—a wide variety of personalities are introduced to the screen, each of whom appears equally as tortured. With minimal dialogue and a creeping pace, the sense of impending doom never leaves the screen. Crying babies, heavy shadows and broken records set a consistent tone of nightmarish anxiety. Drawn frenetically from the dancehall, where beautiful young couples bob and empty Champagne glasses litter the tables, to the apartment building of a former piano teacher that is stacked high with sheet music and out onto the empty cobblestone streets, the audience is never allowed to feel at ease. The film is scored with discordant piano music and full of
expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
cinematography. At the beginning, the camera follows Dr. Braun through his work, where exaggerated shots lend themselves to symbolic interpretation. For example, in one scene, Dr. Braun stands silently in front of a wall full of ticking confiscated clocks. Clocks serve as a symbol for time; and the Jews who lost their clocks also had their time on Earth taken from them. Later, short choppy shots of the doctor's home work act as exposition. A small pile of books and an empty jar of milk hint at poverty and intellect. His neglected violin suggests passion and creativity that has been suppressed; and his small bedroom window, which shows a solitary smoking chimney, subtly alludes to the horrors of the Holocaust. Towards the end of the film, a voice from the radio, declares in a monotone voice, "The longer the war lasts the greater is our faith in the final victory." Not a voice of hope, Brynych's film sends out a message of despair.


Cast

*
Miroslav Macháček Miroslav Macháček (May 8, 1922 – February 17, 1991) was a Czech theatre director and an actor. Life and career Miroslav Macháček was born in Nymburk. His father was a car painter and a custodian of the theater in Nymburk and sometimes work ...
as Dr. Armin Braun * Olga Scheinpflugová as Music teacher * Jiří Adamíra as Lawyer Karel Veselý, owner of the building *
Zdenka Procházková Zdenka Procházková (4 April 1926 – 25 August 2021) was a Czech actress. She was married to Karel Höger, who she starred with in the 1949 film ''A Dead Man Among the Living'', but they were already divorced by the time of his death in 1977. ...
as Marta Veselá *
Josef Vinklář Josef Vinklář (10 November 1930, in Podůlší – 18 September 2007, in Prague) was a Czech actor, a member of the National Theatre. He was married to Czech actress Jana Dítětová. Biography Born 10 November 1939, but when in 1946 th ...
as Vlastimil Fanta * Ilja Prachař as Butcher Šidlák * Jana Prachařová as Věra Šidláková * Jiří Vršťala as Inspector * Tomáš Hádl as Honzík Veselý * Eva Svobodová as Landlady Kratochvílová *
Karel Nováček Karel Nováček (born 30 March 1965) is a retired Czech former top ten tennis player born in Prostějov, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic). In his career, Nováček won 13 singles titles and six doubles titles. His highest singles ranking was Wor ...
as Resistance member Pánek *
Čestmír Řanda Čestmír Řanda (5 December 1923 – 31 August 1986) was a Czechoslovak film actor. He appeared in over 65 films and television shows between 1960 and 1986. Selected filmography * '' Bílá spona'' (1960) * ''Hvězda zvaná Pelyněk'' (196 ...
as Dr. Emil Wiener *
Slávka Budínová Slávka Budínová (21 April 1924 – 31 July 2002) was a Czechoslovak film actress. She appeared in over 60 films and television shows between 1953 and 1999. Selected filmography * '' The Flood'' (1958) * '' Lidé z maringotek'' (1966) * ' ...
as Helena Wienerová *
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 Vinoh ...
as Maid Anička


Reception

When the film was released in the United States in 1968, it was praised by the critics. ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine said it was a "superlatively photographed film," and Roger Ebert wrote, "It comes as a shock, in the last ten minutes, to discover how deeply involved you have become.
t is T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...
unmistakably the work of a master, and I can only wonder whether Brynych has made other films or if his ability is natural, as
Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...
seems to be. I mention Fellini because this film seems to have what Fellini and very few other directors are able to achieve: A sense of rhythm." and "A nearly perfect film...beautiful, distinguished work. I imagine it will win the Academy Award for the best foreign film."*


References


External links

*
DVD review at MovieHabit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fifth Horseman Is Fear, The 1965 drama films 1965 films 1960s avant-garde and experimental films Czechoslovak black-and-white films 1960s Czech-language films Czechoslovak avant-garde and experimental films Films about Jews and Judaism Films directed by Zbyněk Brynych Films set in Prague Holocaust films Czech war films Czech resistance to Nazi occupation in film Czech avant-garde and experimental films Czech World War II films Czechoslovak World War II films Medical-themed films