No Chaos, Please!

A series of films by various directors, CS, 1958–1989

On the road to communism, everything seemed to work on the outside; plans were met and exceeded, everyone had a good life, and there was an abundance of everything, but the opposite was true. However, it is difficult to trace the truth in the film production of that time, since a negative image incriminates and undermines trust in one truth, one party. Let’s look at things differently, not only through defective products, but also through various possibilities of (organized, tolerated) chaos and two apocalyptic visions. The series of short films from the archives of the Slovak Film Institute was prepared by film historian Eva Filová.

It Concerns Us All
Týka sa nás všetkých
director: Kazimír Barlík, 1958, 16 min.

What are nuclear fallout shelters for? Once they served as protection against the American imperialists, today against the Russians. A documentary film about the timely assistance of civil defense when nuclear weapons are used.

Probe no. 11/1981 – Please, Hold on...
Sonda. 11/1981, Nezavesujte, ste v poradí...
director: Dušan Rapoš, 1981, 10 min.

What would Bratislava look like after a disaster? A film propaganda against Reagan’s armament and nuclear threat through the eyes of a student of the Academy of Performing Arts.

Hidden Defects
Skryté chyby
director: Kazimír Barlík, 1962, 11 min.

A kind, communal satire that educated citizens on the matter of defect prevention in production. A propaganda on the topic of defective products and necessary repair services.

Probe no. 4/1984 – A Warehouse Labyrinth
Sonda. 4/1984, Skladnícky labyrint
director: Ľubomír Štecko, 1984, 17 min.

Warehouses overflowing with goods that cannot be sold, inadequate storage conditions. A playful journalistic probe into the issue of our warehouses.

Quo vadis?
Quo vadis?
director: Vlado Balco, 1983, 7 min.

The influence of civilizational progress on the environment troubled filmmakers already in the 1960s and 1970s. The topic was approached in an original way by a fresh graduate of the Academy of Performing Arts.

Probe no. 4/1989 – A Trip
Sonda. 4/1989, Zájazd
director: Ivo Brachtl, 1989, 12 min.

What was the state of the historical center of Bratislava just before the Velvet Revolution? You will find out in a satire on neglected and crumbling cultural monuments.