Larks on a String (Skřivánci na niti)

Presents a film based on a book by Bohumil Hrabal.

Larks on a String

After "Victorious February" the working class finally took power and became the

ruling class in the state.

The remnants of the defeated classes were put to work so that they could

atone for belonging to the former bourgeoisie through honest labour.

"Why shouldn't we be glad when we are working for ourselves?"

AND OVERTAKE

You wanted to see where the production of steel starts.

This is the place, the scrap heap.

All that you can see here well be smelted down

into high-grave steel.

We'll make tractors out of this steel to plough our fields.

We'll make more washing machines so you can wash your dirty overalls.

These are our voluntary workers.

Mostly of bourgeois origin.

We'll also smelt them down.

Into a new kind of people.

This is a professor of philosophy, a former librarian

in the capital of Prague who was sent to work in industry,

for he refused to shred decadent bourgeois western literature.

- How are you, professor? - Fine, thank you.

It is getting better in the spiritual sphere.

Now I'll introduce the others to you.

This is a public prosecutor who is here because he maintained

that the defendant had a right to defend himself.

Mr persecutor's lucky

that comrade prosecutor didn't charge him.

This is...

Hey, hey!

This is Tiny, a former joiner.

Patented... Patented...

- Patented manufacture of wash-tubs. - Patented manufacture of wash-tubs.

He satisfied his bourgeois lust by employing four workers.

This is Jack-knife, a former barber.

He is here because out five barbers, three had to go.

Well, men, what about hygiene?

Tiny, don't eat bread with hairs on it!

D'you want to get malaria or leprosy?

This is a saxophonist who is here because we abolished saxophones

as bourgeois instruments.

And this one here, this is Dairyman.

We're really proud of him.

He himself decide to close his dairy

and volunteered to work for socialism.

This is Pavel Hvezdar, a cock thrown out of a hotel

because he didn't want to work on Saturdays for religious reasons.

Here he also doesn't work on Saturdays

and I'm giving his now the third reprimand of the trade unions.

This men will not die a natural death...

So these are our workers.

A former philosopher, public prosecutor, barber, cook and a saxophonist.

I'm the only one here who's a worker by origin.

Doctor, come and join us.

I can't, they took my ladder away.

Ok then, you'll discuss the February events

so that the cinema audiences know that not only them

but all decent people must closely follow

the imperialist plays of capitalism with revulsion and disgust.

Americans, jump into the sea!

- The PUSAN fortress will soon fall. - Pusan.

And you'll say doubtingly: I wouldn't be so sure!

No way, I'm in the dog-house as it is.

All I'll say is: Ami go home!

Excellent! This is a dialectic approach.

And you, as the people's tribune, will shout indignantly:

Watch out, imperialists, we'll pour our peaceful steel

down your war-mongers throats!

Hands off Korea!

Watch out, imperialist, we'll pour...

- Our... - our peaceful steel

down your war-mongers throats.

- Hands off... - Hands off Korea!

- Off Korea! - Is that so?

Opened by the chairman of the cultural commission,

one-fifteen this afternoon...

End of announcement.

Hey, wait! You can't do that!

She's a prisoner.

It's all right. Everything's my responsibility here.

You two hold your hands

and pretend to look joyfully into each other's eyes.

That's it.

And there will be the following commentary

about the two of you.

We're doing all this for our future, for the future of our young new people

who love each other, who raise families to have levelly children

who will never again know war, suffering, but ever-lasting peace.

Bend forward a little bit, that's right.

And take this newspaper, hold it like this

as if you were reading it... That's it, that's it.

That'll be wonderful.

OK, let's roll!

Smile!

- Honour to work! - Why not, if it's well paid.

Yes, great. Great! Silence, please, we're rolling!

How come you haven't loaded up any scrap?

There's no scrap to smelt in the furnaces!

- Camera! - Americans, jump into the sea,

the Pusan fortress will soon fall!

Ami go home!

I say, how come you haven't loaded up any scrap since the morning?!

- We're on strike! - What?

- What did you say, Vaclav? - Let's get out of here!

We're not working until they send the person

who's supposed to discussed the increased norms

with us according to the rules!

Vaclav, the imperialists are closing in on us.

We can't wait, we have to pour our peaceful steel

into their war-mongers throats!

We all read the Party daily's editorial

Who said the norms should be raised? Who did he discuss it with?

The ministry of heavy industry.

- Whose suggestion was it? - Ours, the trade unions.

But you didn't ask the opinion of those who should've been asked first!

Are we just figures for your statistic or what?

No, of course not, I only did what was approved by the trade unions.

Go are you going back to work?

Only if the original norms are maintained.

OK. In that case, I have to report it

to the management and the Trade Union Council.

Why are you treating us like this?

Why d'you want to take money from my pocket?

Vaclav, you, an old Party member, and you talk to me like that?

I'm fed up with you!

But, Vaclav, I'm one of you, I'm a worker too!

So you should be able to understand this.

You should've filmed that, you window-dressers!

Hands off the strike!

Hands off each other!

I haven't had such a good laugh for ages.

Come on, girls, cut it out!

Work is a matter of honour for you!

They're defectors.

Penal Code, the law which came into effect

on July, 12, 1950, No. 86,

paragraph 95 - deserting the republic.

He who leaves the territory of the Czechoslovak Republic

without permission will be punished by imprisonment

of between one and five years.

The court say withdraw his citizenship.

Suspended sentence is out of the question!

Well?

Come on!

Cut it out!

Did you wash hands?

Don't go overboard!

Now hear this! We'll play Polka for Jarmilka

in Honour of the smelting team lead by Vomacka

for their record-braking number of melt-downs.

Nothing but record melt-downs.

The other day they broke the record for the open-hearth furnaces.

Fourteen melt-downs in twenty-four hours.

But one roller told me that he'd put all innovators

before the court because the rolling-mill

rolls the steel from these famous fourteen melt-downs

and half of the material will have to go back

into the furnace as scrap.

So, it's true "Well Begun is Half Done".

But it is even more true what our grandfathers,

used to say: "Haste Makes Waste!"

What might they give us for going on strike?

I'm just thinking about it.

They could enforce the Act on Peace Protection,

the sentences are more severe.

But we are in the right! We have to keep ourselves fit!

You maybe, but not me, nor the others.

Of course,

if I were comrade prosecutor, I'd charge us and the others

with a nice anti-stats conspiracy.

Then I'd charge myself as intellectual instigator

of the whole strike,

the exacerbating circumstances for me being

that I, as former Mr Prosecutor,

I should've known better...

But we're all equal here!

The members of the defeated classes just like the communists.

We're all working here to make everyone's life better!

Even violators enter the kingdom.

So you're getting married, are you?

Get married then!

There exist the double-slap theory.

If a worker slaps me, they may lock me up

because I provoked him,

but if I slap a worker,

it's classed as grievous bodily harm,

even if it's only a hero less slap.

That's great! But that's not allowed here in Kladno!

So don't get married then!

Not here, anyway!

- Honour to work! - Honour to work.

It looks like I'm going to have to.

Really? So go and get married then!

But I'm afraid...

So don't get married then!

Get up! Get up, men!

There's a delegate here form the Trade Union Council.

He's as busy, but he still found the time to come and see us.

So go and get married then!

Look, comrades, I was sorry to hear