Formed originally in 1918 in the aftermath of World War I and the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, the former nation state of Czechoslovakia existed for 75 years until it was dissolved in 1989 in the so-called ‘Velvet Revolution’, so named for the relatively peaceful manner of its dissolution in the aftermath of the break-up of the Soviet Union. Yet Czechoslovakia had its share of violence during its 41 years of communist government – most notably in 1968 when Russian troops forcibly quashed the reformist ideas of Alexander Dubček.
Velvet Terrorists offers glimpses into the lives of three former insurgents against Czechoslovakian communist government. Each of the would-be revolutionaries – Stano, Fero and Vladimir appear still victim to the memories of their insurrectionist past. Stan can’t seem establish a relationship or a sense of purpose in his largely docile working life. Fero is happily married with two children but speaks fondly of agitation of his youth, impressing upon his teenage children the tricks of his increasingly distant trade. Vladimir has adopted a Colonel Kurtz-type existence, training a disaffected young woman in the myriad way of the urban counter-revolutionary.
The attraction of Velvet Terrorists lies in the contrast between the would-be terrorists’ docile and benign contemporary lives and their exciting youthful exploits. The film is deliberately understated, with long moments of silence punctuated with the odd small-scale explosion. There are the occasional moments when you wonder if these guys would struggle to successfully dodge a train fare let alone bring down a government.
But what remains is the paradoxical sense of loss in Stano, Fero and Vladimir’s lives: having witnessed the demise of the hated communist government, they’re left yearning for a time when their lives had meaning. Now all that is left are the memories, and the rest of the world seems to have moved on.
BY PATRICK EMERY
