The Cremator

Czech filmmaker Juraj Herz’s extremely dark 1969 satire—adapted from the titular 1957 novel by Ladislav Fuks—stars Rudolf Hrusinsky as Karel Kopfrkingl, a crematorium manager who is slipping towards madness. Set in the late 1930s as Nazi German forces are massing on the Czech border, the story follows Kopfrkingl in his day-to-day activities as he tries to recruit new workers, holds a reception for prospective clients in which he lauds cremation, and is seen in loving domestic scenes with his wife and two children. But even as Kopfrkingl spouts homilies and takes it upon himself to put out other people’s cigars (for their own health), he also harbors erotic and macabre fantasies, as well as an overriding obsession with Tibetan Buddhism: believing that his mission is to release humans from suffering through cremation. Gradually, a German acquaintance of Kopfrkingl indoctrinates him in Nazi ideology related to blood purity, which will ultimately have shocking repercussions on Kopfrkingl’s part-Jewish family. The Cremator is a thematically disturbing film that is also cinematically impressive, shot in black and white with extreme close-ups, trick shots that end one scene and start another, and nightmarish sequences using a fish-eye lens (fans of Kubrick will definitely appreciate the cinematography). Bowing in high-definition with a crisp 4K digital transfer, extras include Herz’s 1965 debut short film 'The Junk Shop,' a 2011 documentary short in which Herz visits filming locations, a new interview with film programmer Irena Kovarova on Herz and the making of The Cremator, a 2017 documentary on film composer Zdenek Liska, a 1993 interview with actor Hrusinsky, and a booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Jonathan Owen. An offbeat Czech New Wave film that delivers an effective portrait of madness while also sounding an ominous note about the related twin evils of nationalism and totalitarianism, this is recommended. (R. Pitman)