Voices from the Other World. Feminist Space and Masculine Intrusion in 'Daisies' and 'The Murder of Engineer Devil'

The authoress argues that Vera Chytilova's 'Daisies' (1966) and Estera Krumbachova's 'The Murder of Engineer Devil' (1970) are the only films in the history of Czech cinema that can be considered as the example of the use of feminist aesthetics in its archaic and subversive form. The Czech New Wave (these films were made at its height) gave birth to politically conscious aesthetic experiments, and its interests ranged from man's freedom, a human being, truth and courage. However, gender (in terms of tradition and essentialism) roles and positions remained intact. The masculine version of history was universal. In this context, Chytilova's and Krumbachova's films are separate works of art while the traditional analysis method becomes inadequate. The films address the issue of women's desire and pleasure, and woman plays the part of a causative subject. This tactics produces a fragmented narrative and poses questions whether it is possible to employ such a narrative formula that will avoid the trap of a standard script with the structure of the tragedy of Oedipus. Analysing the films from this point of view, the authoress broadens the context of her feature with the status of Chytilova and Krumbachova in the Czech cinema milieu of the time.