Autumn magic Prince Raduz and Princess Magulena have fallen in love, but happiness is impossible as their parents and states are in a long and violent feud. Lovers still challenge fate...
In the 1970s in Europe there was another surge of interest in the culture of the fin de siecle, the spicy aesthetics of modernity and the cool waters of symbolism again began to excite creative personalities and of course filmmakers could not pass by. It was on this wave that the film of the Czechoslovak director Petr Weigl “Raduz and Magulen” was created, the poetic fantasy of which was based on the drama of Julius Zeyer and the music of Josef Suc. The plot of "Radusa and Magulena" intertwined many motifs from fabulous and legendary, to "Romeo and Juliet", and even has the influence of the Indian poet Kalidas. Weigl’s film accurately conveys the atmosphere of modernity and is covered with light autumn sadness, this is a dark fairy tale for adult audiences. The film is unusually beautiful: nature paintings are carefully selected for each scene, early autumn decorated the foliage with bizarre purple shades. Actors in flying blue-turquoise clothes against the background of golden trees look like animated images from paintings by Puvie de Chavanne and Maurice Denis. Peacocks, forest lakes, half-naked beauties effectively freeze in languid poses soaking in a green meadow, or dream near black water, or flutter in dance like von Stuck's nymphs. Despite the abundance of events in the film, a hypnotically slowed rhythm to the end evokes a slight slumber. The general mood is pathetic, theatrical, passions are noble on a high note, the actors are completely given to their high-pitched images, I play without a shadow of a smile, this is facilitated by thick makeup, costumes with cloaks and flowing fabrics, unusual head decorations, high lush wigs in women.
In many ways, the film turned out because of the right actors: Prince Raduz is a romantic hero ready to die for love - Jan Trshiska, an actor with a very strange kind of Elf face, with slightly mowing dark eyes, with broken plastic "sun" child. If you were looking for a non-format actor for the role of prince, then you got 100%. He had a difficult task to show both acting skills and physical abilities, since in many scenes he had to walk almost naked. The embodiment of purity and kindness Princess Magulena – Magda Vashariova, a blonde snow maiden with large brown eyes, an angel girl in a red as blood dress. Magda Vashariova is a beautiful muse of Czechoslovak cinema, not an ideal beauty, but a charming and sincere actress, in this film she is still very young. The feelings of Raduz and Magulena are fabulously high, even ceremonial, no squeezing and kissing in a hickey. Other actors also kept up, especially want to highlight Yaroslav Adamov as the evil mother of Magulena Queen Rune. The red-haired queen Rune Valkyrie, a poisonous spider woman full of malice and vindictiveness, identifies another favorite image of Art Nouveau as the dark embodiment of the feminine principle.
The musical fairy tale in the Art Nouveau style “Raduz and Magulena” is the only one of its kind. Perfect. Director Peter Weigl realized that in the genre of the film-poem to him nothing to say and switched to luxury films-opera. The wonderful Magda Vashariova for many years remained the muse of the master, especially their work in the film-opera “The Mermaid” by Dvorak was successful.