Dym Bramborove Nate (Smoke On The Potato Fields)

1977 film from our good friend Frantisek Vlacil. And this is one of his better ones.
We have the doctor, who is our centre, smartly identified. He is not let to dominate the screen, but appears at the edges constantly. It is as though there is an absence where the central identification should be; in the meantime, we shall follow this lonley and tired man.
In so far as shots, we have the interesting initial one, and others follow, of the male and female looking in opposite directions, trying to be together but ultimately failing. Vlacil is not so keen to make icons of his large character's faces as he was at the start of his career. He is able to ease back, even to on occassion go for the wide, still shots of landscape he seemed to shy away from earlier.
As for the plot, the dilemna of the central character is nicely, understatedly played. We do not dwell on what he is doing or why, rather it is a wonderfully acted character study in restraint and resignation. The real excercise here is in how the man adapts to an enviroment that is depicted better than ever. The old instruments, the stilted attitidues. Very well done.
One does rather tire of this film, the plot, for the last third, is difficult not to lose a bit of interest in. The place is curious to see, but it would be wrong to say that Vlacil has ever made the places he shoots beautiful.
One of Vlacil's better works, if not great.