An excerpt from the booklet essay by Peter Hames.

Oil Lamps was adapted from a novel by Jaroslav Havlíček (1896-1943), originally published in 1935. The project was initially approved by the new Barrandov management although, as Josef Škvorecký suggested, it was hardly a model for Socialist Realism – ‘other isms, like psychologism, naturalism and a predilection for decadent themes, all of them pejorative in the socialist realist vocabulary are better applicable to his work’ (Škvorecký, 1971). Originally scripted by Václav Šašek, the final script was produced from a reworking by Lubor Dohnal. Dohnal also came from a Jewish background and had begun his career working on two classic Slovak films – Crucial Years (Kristovy roky, Juraj Jakubisko, 1967) and Party in the Botanical Garden (Slávnosť v botanickej záhrade, Elo Havetta, 1969).

The film’s literary origins are reflected in a more orthodox narrative development albeit with unusual emphases. The basic theme, as will already be evident, focusses on a marriage that is unconsummated due to the fact that the husband is an ex-army officer dying of syphilis. Not, one would have thought, an occasion for glittering sets, expensive costumes, and a story of romance. As his first film for cinema following The Cremator, the emphasis on social and moral corruption was not unexpected. However, while the management of the Barrandov Studios might well have approved the theme as a critique of capitalist society, they were hardly prepared for its treatment.

The opening scene is set in a theatre on New Year’s Eve 1899. A man in evening dress and sporting a silver sash marked ‘1900’ welcomes in the new century. He speaks optimistically of the world being a better and happier place in fifty years. There is an extended dance sequence, fireworks in the park, and the film’s heroine, Štěpa (Iva Janžurová), joins in the mood of hope with a radiant optimism. A liberated young lady who drinks beer and dances ‘outrageously’, she challenges the middle-class constraints of her family and offends against the proprieties of her most suitable match.

It is against this background that her interest reawakens in her childhood sweetheart, Pavel (Petr Čepek), now an officer in the Austrian Army and the focus of the town’s female attention. Pavel’s father is in financial difficulty and the family farm is now run by Pavel’s older brother. Pavel fails to return to the army, where he had spent his time (and his father’s money) on gambling, drinking, and women. He eventually designs to marry Štěpa in a match designed to rescue his family from potential ruin.

Much of the film’s force derives from Janžurová’s striking performance. She had, of course, already impressed in Karel Kachyňa’s Coach to Vienna (Kočár do Vídně, 1966) and was to follow Oil Lamps with her dual role in Morgiana. Štěpa’s hopes for a romantic fulfilment, her optimism, and desire for a family are brilliantly conveyed in her touching performance. Her hopes protect her from the community’s growing suspicions. Romantic occasions contrast with Pavel’s straight, emotionless face – the reality that he has contracted syphilis and the fact that their romance and marriage are fated.

Peter Hames’ complete essay, from which this excerpt is taken, appears in the booklet which accompanies the release.