There are so many different winter traditions around the whole world. But I think most countries have a tradition of watching special movies or fairy tales during this period. Do you know any Czech ones, which are customary to watch at this wonderful time? Here we have prepared for you a list of the most popular movies that you should definitely put on your list this Christmas!
Winter has come and that means city streets have been decorated with lights, garlands, and all these Christmas furnishings! Big green Christmas trees have embellished the main squares and the smell of the mulled wine, cinnamon and pastry are about to work up our appetite. It is the most magical time of the year, isn’t it?
This time has an exceptional spirit. Spirit of real love, true friendship, forgiveness, charity, and hope. That’s why so many authors around the world were inspired by this unique period. And even if most stories were written for little kids, adult people don’t stay indifferent to it. Because when the year is coming to an end, each heart desires some miracle to happen.
Princess with a gold star (Princezna se zlatou hvězdou na čele)
1.Isn’t a great idea to spend winter evenings in a warm and cozy atmosphere at home with family and friends watching some Christmas magic stories. Princess with a gold star is one of the classic Czech fairy tales filmed in 1958. Of course, the main heroes are the beautiful princess Lada, who has a gold star on her forehead, and an evil King, who is interested in princes and threatens her father with war if she doesn’t marry him. The author of the story is Božena Němcová, one of the greatest Czech authors of the 19th century.
The Prince and the Evening Star (Princ a Večernice)
2. The Prince and the Evening Star is a movie shot in 1978, again based on a story written by Božena Němcová. This fairy tale is about an old king, his three daughters, and son Velen, who temporarily ran the kingdom. Velen wanted to find husbands for his sisters and one day, he asked the Evening Star for help. What is a fairy tale without a love story? Of course, Velen fell in love with the Evening Star. But she also introduced the sisters to her brothers Moonbeam, Sunbeam, and Wind, but the King was against these alliances. This movie would be a great choice for your winter holiday, watch and find out how they figure out the conflict.
Three Wishes for Cinderella (Tři oříšky pro Popelku)
3. Of course this list cant exist without Three Wishes for Cinderella. It is a Czechoslovakian variation of the classic Cinderella fairytale, written also by Božena Němcová. As I know this movie is famous outside the country, and there is a tradition to watch it during Christmas time and in Germany, Slovakia, also in Norway, Switzerland and in Russia. The new version of Cinderella is a wonderful story about kindness and love. The castles, which you will see in the movie, are the Švihov castle in western Bohemia, and the Schloss Moritzburg in Saxony.
Once Upon a Time, There Was a King (Byl jednou jeden král…)
4. Another good choice for a cozy evening in front of the TV will be a fantasy comedy Once Upon a Time, There Was a King. As you could understand from the name the story is about a king, kind of foolish and funny one, but very proud of himself and his kingdom. He has three daughters and wants to leave his throne to one of them. And the throne will get the one, who proves her love to him!
The Incredibly Sad Princess (Šíleně smutná princezna)
5. The Incredibly Sad Princess is a great fairy tale musical, which was released in 1968. The role of the princess is played by a popular Czech singer Helena Vondráčková. The story starts with the trip of a prince and his father to another neighboring kingdom for an engagement. But the prince doesn’t want to get married and to see his supposed wife, he secretly breaks into the princess of the castle garden. Princess will fall in love with him, but of course, she doesn’t know he is her future husband.
Cosy Dens (Pelíšky)
6. Cosy Dens or the Czech name of the film is Pelíšky is probably one of the most famous movies in the Czech Republic. The story was based on the novel “Flaming Feces” by Petr Šabach. The story is happening between Christmas 1967 and the Prague Spring in 1968. The main heroes are a guy, who is in love with a girl, and his neighbor. Unfortunately, their parents have different political views. One father is a supporter of communism, while the other one is an ardent foe of the Communists.
An Angel of the Lord (Anděl Páně)
7. For comedy lovers the great choice will be Anděl Páně. There are two parts of this movie, directed by Jiří Strach. The first one was released in 2005 and the second part in 2016. The first part takes place on Christmas Eve as the whole of heaven is preparing for the spectacular celebrations of Jesus’ birthday. Everyone is being busy with preparations but then the clumsy angel Petronel accidentally destroys everything and causes chaos everywhere he goes. Therefore he is sent to Earth, where he has only one day to fix what he caused. In the second part, his adventure continues. This time Petronel plucked an apple from the Tree of Knowledge and moreover dropped it to Earth… What will happen to Angel and how he will fix the situation? Watch to find out! In both movies, you can hear some popular carols. For example in the first one, it’s “Ó vzhlížejme vzhůru” (based on “O Come All Ye Faithful”) and in the second one it’s “Chtíc, aby spal”.
So, which one are you going to watch first?
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