Atrakción 1974

Directed by Helena Třeštíková

Helena Böhmová’s (Třeštíková’s) graduation documentary offers a glimpse into the lives of the Šmíd siblings, a family of circus performers from South Bohemia. Accompanied by an eclectic musical soundtrack ranging from traditional folk music and trumpet to pan flute, we watch them rehearse at their winter quarters. Their testimonies reveal that they pursue the dangerous professions of tightrope walking and pole acrobatics primarily out of passion, as the work brings little financial reward. Gaining the admiration of women is another motivation. Both the preparations and the performance itself in Kralupy, along with the performers and their audience, are captured in authentic-looking black-and-white footage, while occasional colour sequences lend the film a poetic, even metaphorical dimension.