Loves of a Blonde (Lásky jedné plavovlásky) (1966)

Loves of a Blonde is the story of Andula, a (blonde) girl who lives in the Czech countryside in the 60s. In her village, there are sixteen women for every one man, and from the very beginning her desire to experience romance is latent. She has a boyfriend she doesn't really like that much, but she idealizes him in her stories to convince herself that she is happy with her circumstances.

One day a division of soldiers arrives in town, to the joy of the women, and a dance is organized as a massive match-making event; however, Andula's eye is caught by a younger, much better-looking pianist from Prague. What follows is a closely-shot, intimate tale of inhibition, seduction, hope and deception. I had the feeling that Forman's point was to show that such all-encompassing words can be easily contained in a few day-to-day episodes in the lives of a girl and a boy.

The film is an examination of the process of "sentimental education": it involves pleasure and pain, caution and surrender. Andula and Mila (the boy) have an ambiguous, short-lived relationship that each of them perceives in a different way, and which means different things to each. Although many other characters get screen time, the focus is on Andula: her desires, her expectations, then her encounter with reality; the difference between her idea of love and what love is "in practice". All these things are told and shown in a lovely, evocative way, through beautiful cinematography and situations that go from being absurdly funny to sad and sometimes cruel.

The most remarkable thing about Loves of a Blondeis the empathy that it succeeds at raising through Hana Brejchovás' portrayal of a girl coming to terms with her urges and their implications, as well as the rest of the candid performances (I remember reading most of them were non-actors) and dialogue. It also boasts an unforgettable "bedroom" scene that has all the warmth and charm of Godard's vignettes in Une Femme Mariée but which manages to keep an awkward and fragile mood at the same time. I'm not sure of how to compare it to Forman's later, much more famous work, but it is definitely haunting, involving, and very obviously written from the heart.