2023 | 137min | Drama | Italy | Italian, with English subtitles

Director | Petr Václav

CAST Lana Vlady, Elena Radonicich, Vojtěch Dyk

Exquisitely shot in warm tones, Václav’s film takes place in a number of Italian cities, but it refuses to offer us touristic images of the bel paese or indulge in baroque displays of period details. We are instead immersed in elaborate indoor scenes rich in atmosphere and human interaction – such as the tense, dazzlingly edited premiere of Myslivecek’s opera in Naples – that allow actors the room to breathe and perfect their performances.

Centring on two eventful decades in the composer’s time in Italy, Il Boemo depicts the earnest efforts of a gifted artist to actualise himself despite compromises and creeping poverty. That Mysliveček’s life coincided with the epochal appearance of Mozart gives his story a tragic dimension. With wisdom and tenderness, Il Boemo evokes how history passed by Mysliveček even as he was trying to find a place in it.

The film’s Italian milieu, couldn’t be more vividly illustrated, fusing rich historical locations with grandiose design work by Irena Hradecká and Luca Servino. Andrea Cavalletto’s costume design, meanwhile, does more than just throw embellished splendour at the screen, instead thoughtfully recycling items to remind viewers how Mysliveček, even at his peak, was never too far from seamy ruin: In particular, one gorgeous frockcoat in turquoise velvet follows him through the years, a dandy’s aspirational uniform at one point, a literal marker of faded glory later on.