Arvéd
Czech Republic, Slovakia 2022
Directed by Vojtěch Mašek, drama, 120 min, eng subtitles, 16+
Written by Jan Poláček, Vojtěch Mašek
With Michal Kern, Saša Rašilov, Vojtěch Vodochodský, Martin Pechlát
Jiří Arvéd Smíchovský was a controversial figure of modern Czech history: a prominent hermeticist, occultist, black magic practitioner and a highly erudite man with a brilliant memory who served both the Nazi and the Communist regimes, collaborating with the German intelligence agency Sicherheitsdienst and the Communist secret police.
Featuring a haunting central performance from Michal Kern, and using a labyrinthine form of storytelling and an unnerving electronic soundtrack, Arvéd is an eccentric biographical drama that pushes the limits of its genre and draws a stylised and extraordinary portrait of its charismatic character who, to achieve his goals, is willing to go knocking on the very gates of Hell.
With the support of the Czech Centre Brussels