Prague-based filmmaker Helena Třeštíková has been filming marriage stories since the early 1980s, resulting in several long-term documentaries. Ivana and Václav’s everlasting marriage covenant is the subject of observation in this episode, which ranges from the day before the wedding to the present day. Back then, in December 1980, Ivana is 21 years old and Václav 24. Both study architecture and marry “because we like each other. And other things. Things better not talked about.” The first child is born shortly after the wedding. Třeštíková is obviously attracted to certain places she keeps returning to, but mostly to people and the way they try to give their lives meaningful directions. In this “Marriage Story”, we discern an incredible desire for expansion and growth which becomes evident in an accumulation of objects, children and responsibilities – one of the underlying motives of the Strnads’ marriage which gradually unfolds over 35 years together.

Carolin Weidner, DOK Leipzig Catalogue 2017

 

The miracle of birth in close-up. Třeštíková’s first observational documentary marks the starting point of a long-term study that is to last 37 years and culminate in the film “Private Universe”. Her distinctive style is already evident in this intimate miniature – the portrait of a young woman preparing for motherhood emerges in just a few scenes. Třeštíková won the 1975 Golden Dove in Leipzig for “The Miracle”.

Lina Dinkla