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The Ear
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The Ear

1970
Drama
1h 34m
A gaunt tale weaves marital discord & surveillance paranoia. Government functionary spends sleepless night wondering if he'll be arrested before dawn, with disfunctional marriage adding to tension as he & his wife argue & vacillate, it's no wonder that The Ear waited for Czech premiere till 1989; wonder is that it was made at all. It's said director's offsider, Jan Procházka, had political connections that helped, plus his inside knowledge making suggestions adding to the plot. (Summary by SinnerMa)
Directed by:
Karel Kachyna Karel Kachyna
Written by:
Karel Kachyna Karel Kachyna Jan Procházka Ladislav Winkelhöfer
+2 more
Starring:
Miroslav Holub Jirina Bohdalová Radoslav Brzobohatý Jirí Císler Milica Kolofiková Galina Kopaneva
More
Genre:
Drama
AKA:
Ucho
Country:
Czechoslovakia
Languages:
Czech, Russian
imdb More information at IMDb
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The Ear

1970
Drama
1h 34m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 68.17% from 195 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

(194)
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ronthedogronthedog
Rated 13 Jan 2010
90
94th
Ostensibly about totalitarianism but really about a relationship that acts as a mirror for the situation of the oppressed. Stunning.
Rated 13 Jan 2010
bngpotentialBNGPotential
Rated 09 Oct 2012
84
56th
Really pretty good on like,...four levels. Will recommend.
Rated 09 Oct 2012
hakkanarejohakkanarejo
Rated 15 Sep 2015
0
2nd
Really not interested.
Rated 15 Sep 2015
astrakhanastrakhan
Rated 14 Jul 2018
76
43rd
Interesting Communism social commentary, done in that classical Eastern European straight-up metaphorical way. Also a bit arduous to get through due to its sparsity of characters and locations. A bit too much like sitting in the theatre for 2 hours, for my taste.
Rated 14 Jul 2018
sinnermaSinnerMa
Rated 24 Aug 2023
76
71st
The invisible Ear hears all - beleive it, even if you can't see it at the time, nor trace its doings! Hard to beleive in the West but that things were this way is quite scary, pity plotting and pace are at times dull. Searing indictment of a totalitarian state and its effect on its citizens. The ending is excellent.
Rated 24 Aug 2023
honeybHoneyB
Rated 16 Mar 2021
79
72nd
Claustrophobic on so many levels.
Rated 16 Mar 2021
mrarnmrarn
Rated 30 Dec 2018
75
94th
The stark style with abusive interactions conveys the pain, stress, and paranoia of living with big brother.
Rated 30 Dec 2018
driscarpindriscarpin
Rated 19 Oct 2020
94
93rd
Orelha estreava há 30 anos na Hungria porque quando foi feito há 50 anos na Tchecoslováquia foi proibido pelo governo comunista de ser exibido e é fácil ver o porquê. Parte cinema político, parte thriller de paranoia, parte DR de casal, qualquer forma de ser classificado fincará a excelência de seu desenvolvimento dentro da Nová Vlna. BlurayRip no MakingOff.
Rated 19 Oct 2020
janusjanus
Rated 10 Aug 2016
55
24th
Relevant but overly dry. The premise once established (and the bracing credits music) had this viewer hoping for something a little less poker-faced from the leads. I'm amenable to the pessimism and sanctimony of these kinds of films, but I wish they really went for the throat more often.
Rated 10 Aug 2016
moribunnyMoribunny
Rated 08 Feb 2015
60
54th
That The Ear was banned for 40 years proves that Kachyna was telling the truth about how easily people disappeared under Communism, which proves that getting his film banned wasn't even the worst he was risking. In short, everyone involved in this had balls of steel. The Ear is a masterclass in photography. The low and upward angles, the POV dialogue shots and the constant darkness with hard lighting are unnerving. Communist Prague looks like a Kafka horror story.
Rated 08 Feb 2015
jazzalohaJazzaloha
Rated 29 Jan 2016
70
68th
At least superficially similar to *Lives of Others* and *The Conversation*
Rated 29 Jan 2016

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