directed by Gustav Machatý, drama, silent movie, 85 min, eng subtitles
written by Gustav Machatý
with Karel Schleichert, Ita Rina, Theodor Pištěk
One rainy night, a railway station guard offers shelter to an elegant traveller who has missed his train. When the guard is called away, the traveller, George, is left alone with his daughter Andrea. The young cosmopolitan man makes a big impression on Andrea and that same night the girl succumbs to him. In the morning, George leaves. After some time Andrea discovers that she is expecting a baby. George continues to live his carefree life in the city and spends most of his time with a married woman, Mrs Gilda. When he receives a letter from Andrea saying that she is pregnant, he sends her some money but that is about it from his side. Andrea later gets married and tries to live her life as best as she can but one day, while in the company of her husband, she meets George who tries to seduce her again. How is this scandalous relationship going to end?
This silent movie will be accompanied by live music performed by Icon Orchestra, an international Prague-based quartet created in April 2008 specifically for the purpose of a cine-concert screening Eroticon at the Czech Centre in Paris. The contemporary style performance relies mostly on improvisation with original short compositions. The quartet uses traditional as well as original instruments - violin, accordion, clarinet, bass-clarinet, flutes, piano, wind midi controller, original sound stump, musical machines, etc.
Gustav Machatý is an exceptional figure of Czechoslovak cinematography of the interwar period. His silent movies (Kreutzer's sonata, Eroticon) and movies from the beginning of sound era (From Saturday to Sunday, Ecstasy) were exceptional in terms of their artistic quality and professionally exceeded the majority of the Czechoslovak productions of that time. In 2011 we celebrate 110 years since his birth.