Review: Occupation 1968
Occupation 1968 is a documentary about the occupation as the occupants see it. The 21st August 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of one of the most important dates in Czech and Slovak history- the Warsaw Pact occupation of Czechoslovakia. After being occupied by so called “friendly armies” including Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary and Poland, led by the Soviet union, Czechoslovakia experienced period of normalization which lasted until the Velvet Revolution of 1989.
Half a century later, Occupation 1968 looks at the event from a different angle, more precisely, from 5 different angles. The movie is a result of cooperation of five directors, each from a different Warsaw Pact country, covering a different story. The directors are: Stefan Komandarev (An Unnecessary Hero, Bulgaria), Marie Elisa Scheidt (Voices in the Forest, Germany), Magdalena Szymkow (Soldiers’ Wives & Spies, Poland), Evdokiya Moskvina (The Last Mission of General Ermakov, Russia) and Linda Dombrovszsky (Red Rose [Friendship and Love in the Time of Occupation], Hungary). Each of them has a unique style which makes the final film an interesting mixture, with the majority of the directors being born after the events. “People who remember events from 1968 have cliché memories. I wanted more or less beginning directors who are able to look at time with young eyes. To me it seemed interesting to look at one generation later.” says Peter Kerekeš, the main producer of Occupation 1968. (Source: https://kultura.pravda.sk/film-a-televizia/clanok/473993-okupacia-1968-ocami-okupantov/).
Occupation 1968 can be viewed as a 130 minute long documentary, or as five 26 minute documentaries. The movie produced by Slovak documentarian Peter Kerekeš and five foreign co-producents was first introduced at goEast, the Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, and is dedicated to victims of the occupation.
The movie offers subjective opinions, experiences and stories from occupants themselves. This is what makes this documentary movie unique. Not a lot of films of this genre can offer you the other side of the story. Unlike many others, it focuses not only on victim´s point of view and experience, and that´s why it stands out. The movie answers the questions which may have occurred regarding the presence of “friendly” armies. Did the soldiers know the real situation in Czechoslovakia? Were they informed enough? Did they even have a choice? It is interesting to hear the answers from everyone involved: Bulgarians, Germans, Polish, Russians and Hungarians. As one of the Russian soldiers remembers: “To this day I am not sure whether it was a fight with contra revolution. I think they had their own opinion and their own way… Maybe to intervene was not the right thing to do…. In that situation I could not see the enemy.” This is one of the most memorable quotes from the movie.
When evaluating the movie, diversity is definitely an important term. The creators carefully chose participants not only of different nationalities but also of different military ranks- each one of them played a different role in “Operation Danube”. Thanks to this approach, the movie provides us variety of different testimonies.
Whilst watching the movie, an interesting question might come to one´s mind: “Would the movie be much more different if it was made shortly after the fall of communism?” Half a century has passed since the occupation, and that might affect a soldier´s perception of the event.
When looking at every historical event, it is important to view it from different perspective as well. Especially when it is such a specific event as the Soviet occupation of 1968 was. There is no doubt about the significant, negative impact on Czech and Slovak society, which can be felt thirty years after the fall of communism. The two nations still remember the trauma caused by the violent suppression of Prague Spring. The aim of a documentary is definitely not to convince us the opposite, just to provide a more complex insight and overview of the events of 1989. We might not be the only victims.
