Factuality frequently constrains period films, with directors and scriptwriters buckling under the weight of history. There’s also the example of films that significantly alter history, inventing alternate worlds. We Have Never Been Modern (svit), directed by Matj Chlupáek, falls somewhere in the middle, providing a fictitious narrative with modern problems that nonetheless authentically represents the challenges of its historical context.
The story takes place in 1937 before Czechoslovakia was divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Between the two World Wars, the Eastern European country attempted to modernize its internal structure in the hope that the advancement of its industry would put an end to the prospect of a communist revolution. That is why Helena (Elika Kenková) and her husband, Alois (Miloslav König), have relocated to Svit in We Have Never Been Modern. Alois builds a synthetic fabric plant in this rural area and is now attempting to purchase the adjacent areas in order to change lush landscapes into a concrete paradise.
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We Have Never Been Modern clearly intended to investigate the clash between the aspirations of development and the alleged imperatives of nature from the start. Even then, things take an unexpected turn when an intersex infant is discovered dead on the industrial grounds. The infant, according to Alois, is a quirk of nature that might jeopardize his business goals. They represent to Helena that her pregnancy may be jeopardized because her baby may be born with what she perceives to be a defect. To allay their fears, both will launch a comprehensive inquiry into the problem, with Alois tracking for the perpetrators who wish to damage his business and Helena seeking backing from the medical sciences to secure her baby’s health.
We Have Never Been Modern clearly intended to investigate the clash between the aspirations of development and the alleged imperatives of nature from the start. Even then, things take an unexpected turn when an intersex infant is discovered dead on the industrial grounds. The infant, according to Alois, is a quirk of nature that might jeopardize his business goals. They represent to Helena that her pregnancy may be jeopardized because her baby may be born with what she perceives to be a defect. To allay their fears, both will launch a comprehensive inquiry into the problem, with Alois tracking for the perpetrators who wish to damage his business and Helena seeking backing from the medical sciences to secure her baby’s health.
This all demonstrates how even the most well-intentioned people can fail to comprehend intersexuality. Helena, as a scientist, is curious about what causes a kid to be born without genitals that identify them as one of two genders. As a result, she devours medical texts with images of dead hermaphrodite bodies, hoping that the truth about nature will overcome the hatred that comes from tradition.
Helena’s studies in the film are transformed into unsettling animated visuals focusing on the morphology of genitals, backed by a narrator who mirrors the formal biological approach to gender identification. While these moments may shock more sensitive viewers, they are critical to the film’s message, since We Have Never Been Modern is also about how rigorous scientific inquiry can only go so far in understanding the complexity of the human mind.
Even while Helena’s efforts to comprehend are admirable, there is only so much she can perceive through the prism of reproductive biology. Finally, the human intellect is just too complicated to reduce someone’s identity to their genitals. In actuality, Helena is battling for her value to be seen beyond biological imperatives as a pregnant woman.
We Have Never Been Modern is excellent for having a flawed heroine, since Helena’s journey enables the viewer to think about their worldviews and see how uninformed even the most open-minded person may be about a reality they haven’t experienced personally. Furthermore, Miro ifra’s script is ready to acknowledge that people are complex, and good intentions can injure those we think we are shielding from a dangerous reality.
We Have Never Been Modern is also daring in refusing to place itself or any of its characters on a moral pedestal, avoiding the accusing tone that many films dealing with difficult societal issues exhibit. Instead, it is ready to admit that ignorance is a part of the human condition and that most of us do our best, even though we frequently fail. We have never been modern, since humanity’s journey on Earth is never done, and we are continually attempting to solve the same problems that we have encountered throughout history.
If We Have Never Been Modern had been made in Hollywood, Kenková would have been an early contender for an Academy Award for her emotional portrayal of Helena. Chlupáek understands that character should be at the center of a film about the human experience, which is why he allows Kenková lots of room to shine. And she does sparkle. Kenková has tremendous versatility as an actor, taking Helena through the emotional upheaval in We Have Never Been Modern. It’s an emotive performance that helps establish the tone for each scene, whether we laugh at Helena’s quick-witted teasing or cringe at the desperate expression in her piercing eyes. One review is insufficient to adequately laud her performance and We Have Never Been Modern.
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