Sen o lidské tváři – Vičar Ivan (2024)

Romeo and Juliet are the heroes of a medieval story about the great love of a young couple whose parents, prejudices, and the hatred of those close to them do not wish for their love and embitter their romantic life. This touching yet infuriating story can be found in all times, social classes, and cultures; it is known by almost all nations. It also appears in the 1960s in Czechoslovakia and in this novel. Tomáš's parents are members of the Communist Party and lead their son towards tolerance of the system, whose tyranny in the 1950s can now be spoken of. However, he falls in love with Kristýna, whose parents were expelled from their farm in the 1950s as so-called kulaks, robbed and humiliated, and thus justly hate the Communists. At first, Tomáš perceives these victims of red tyranny as the mistakes of a few individuals, but the fermenting times of the sixties and ideological clashes with other students compel him to finally face the truth. The dream of the then Czechoslovakia for a socialist human face of the regime, which the new political leadership promises along with the rectification of old injustices, the dream of democratization and the easing of censorship is shattered by the invasion of the country, primarily by the Red Army. Tanks roll into the streets of a nation yearning for freedom. The swift return of the old...