Context
"Alice thought to herself, `I don’t see how he can ever finish, if he doesn’t begin.’ But she waited patiently." (Carroll, "Wonderland", 101)
Trying to gain approval to start production in 1968, Pavel Jurácek's a case for a Rookie Hangman had a fraught time. Initially the film had approval by the authorities, but this was taken away in the same year. When approved again, production was then stalled as "The soviet union invaded Czechoslovakia" (Michael Brooke et al., rookie hangman the key to, 2019)
The film was finally produced in 1969. However in 1970, just after "a few dozen screenings" (Michael Brooke et al., rookie hangman the key to, 2019) a case was pulled from cinemas due to the normalisation programme of the Czechoslovakian government. Jurácek was retired permanently. He never made another film.
Despite the film's "exercise in surrealist dream logic" (Filmwalrus, rookie hangman, 2014) it is obvious to the viewer why the authorities were not happy with the film's content. Particularly the revealed nature of the Laputan prince Gulliver encounters, who "drinks away his boredom" (Cotenas, Hangman Rewind, 2019) and the fate of the Laputan king who is meant to watch over
Balnibarbi, but instead has fled and "is not a guest at the Carlton [hotel] but working there as a porter" (Cotenas, Hangman Rewind, 2019) These scenes betray the film's preoccupation with corrupt and inept power and the film's major theme of complacency being another form of ignorance.
This other theme is seen in the scenes towards the end when it is signalled that the Balnibarbi citizens prefer to live in ignorance than be told the true nature of their government. "Their rules reflect their own hang-ups... not... Their... Prince who thinks nothing of them" (Cotenas, Hangman Rewind, 2019) It is clear these satires are directed firmly at the communist authorities of the day as well as the citizens of 1960s Czechoslovakia.
the Balnibarbi rabbit hole trap
"Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next." (Carroll, "Wonderland", 2)
The film has a similar obsession to Lewis Carroll with the nature of rabbit holes and animals which lead the protagonists to enter an unreal place. In a case, Gulliver gets trapped in Balnibarbi and later Laputa because he accidentally runs over a hare in a pocket watch and falls through a door in a strange house.
This sequence inside the old house where Guliver "encounters dead school friends – including his beloved Markéta who drowned" (Cotenas, Hangman Rewind, 2019) is reminiscent of Alice's fall into Wonderland, as both characters begin recalling random elements from their pasts.
Thematically Jurácek plays with carrollian motifs in these scenes. Gulliver's explorations of the house lead him to thinking about German Shepard dogs, lost loves and his childhood self. Falling into Wonderland, Carroll's 7 year old dreaming Alice similarly recalls school lessons and manners which are linked to her real life, even seeing "cupboards and book-shelves... maps and pictures hung upon pegs." (Carroll, "Wonderland", 3)
Kevin Heffernan points out in the Projection booth podcast for a case that in these house scenes, there are many shots of Gulliver's "jumping or falling down from...heights...like going down the rabbit hole" (Peter Hames et al. Projection booth rookie hangman, 2018) Certainly the angles and the filming shots of these scenes guide the viewer into perceiving Gulliver's uneven discoveries as a fall into the unknown.
Useless Inventions
"`You see,' he went on after a pause, `it's as well to be provided for everything. That's the reason the horse has all those anklets round his feet.' `But what are they for?' Alice asked in a tone of great curiosity. `To guard against the bites of sharks,' the Knight replied." (Carroll, "Looking Glass", 116 - 117)
Whilst in Balnibarbi Guliver meets an inventor, professor Biel, who is struggling to get to know the Governor of the country. He implores Guliver to mention him when he sees the governor. He also shows Gulliver his absurd invention, one that is designed to ensure the Balnibarbi citizens do not need to think about anything as the inventor believes it hinders more important things.
Biel could be read as a more sinister variation on Carroll's looking glass White Knight, who is a hapless inventor of useless things. The White knight similarly has bizarre half envisioned inventions such as pudding made with blotting paper, and a way to keep hair from being blown off the head, which amuse and baffle 7 and a half year old Alice in looking glass world.
"I was thinking of a plan
To dye one's whiskers green,
And always use so large a fan
That they could not be seen." (Carroll, "Looking Glass", 126)
But a case...'s professor Biel is morally a far cry from the lovable carrollian knight. He is working as an agent of a government who he has little contact with. His inventions are used to push complacency among his fellow men. Despite the fact Gulliver's questions on Biel's behalf to the governor are never answered, the inventor has a morally ambiguous status in Jurácek's narrative.
Absurdist Trials
Alice had never been in a court of justice before, but she had read about them in books, and she was quite pleased to find that she knew the name of nearly everything there. (Carroll, "Wonderland", 117)
Gulliver faces two bizarre trials in A case. The first occurs towards the beginning of the film after he mistakenly violates the Balnibarbi rule of not speaking on a Monday to preserve air. In this trial Gulliver faces questioning as the inhabitants believe he is Oscar, the hare he ran over, because Gulliver has Oscar's pocket watch. In the second trial which occurs when Gulliver has become attuned to Balnibarbi's ways, he tries to get himself out of the country by pretending his is Oscar, unaware that this confession normally results in death.
These scenes have clear parallels to the trial chapters in Carroll's Wonderland. Both Gulliver and Alice know that the places they inhabit are nonsense, and try and cope with this thought process as they give evidence. Even the threat of death which never materialises lingers over each scene or chapter.
Interestingly both A Case and Alice in Wonderland end with the protagonist aiming to tell an astonished kingdom the truth about how it is run. In a case this happens just after Gulliver arrives back in Balnibarbi from Laputa. Like Alice, who is attacked by the Queen of Hearts
"`Stuff and nonsense!' said Alice loudly. `The idea of having the sentence first!'` Hold your tongue!' said the Queen, turning purple." (Carroll, "Wonderland", 134- 135)
and later the whole deck of cards for telling the truth, Gulliver is faced with an angry mob of citizens' enraged at Gulliver's reveal of the way Laputa is actually run.
Conclusion
With A Case for a Rookie Hangman, Pavel Jurácek created a scathing, scalding piece of surrealist humour and drama. The themes of complacency and authoritarian incompetence are still relevant, and the Lewis Carroll homages are thoughtful and fascinating. Not perhaps an essential part of the canon of rabbit hole films, but definitely one which is thought provoking.
NEXT WEEK: After Hours (1985) well known as kafkaesque, but does this strange tale of a man lost in a bizarre version of late night new York have carrollian parallels as well?
References
Books:
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's adventures in Wonderland, London: Puffin Books, 1994.
Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking-glass and what Alice found There, London: Puffin Books, 2003.
Booklets:
Brooke, Michael, Magdalena Dvorackova, Peter Hames, and Jonathan L Owen. A Case for a Rookie Hangman: The Key to Determining Pavel Jurácek. London: Second Run DVD, 2019.
Essay booklet contained in the 2019 UK DVD release of A Case for a Rookie Hangman (Dir: Pavel Jurácek, 1970)
Online articles:
Cotenas, Eric. A Case for a Rookie Hangman rewind. dvdcompare.net, July 1, 2019. http://www.dvdcompare.net/review.php?rid=5893.
FilmWalrus. Film Atlas (Czech Republic): Case for a Rookie Hangman. Filmwalrus.com, February 24, 2014. http://www.filmwalrus.com/2014/02/film-atlas-czech-republic-case-for.html.
Podcasts:
Hames, Peter, Kevin Heffernan, Kat Ellinger. “The Projection Booth: A Case for a Rookie Hangman.” Broadcast. The Projection Booth 1, no. 30. Detroit: Soundcloud, May 7, 2018. https://soundcloud.com/projectionbooth/episode-340-case-for-a.
