Czech TV’s Christmas Fairy Tales is one of the most watched, but also the most criticized programs on holiday broadcasts every year. For many years, they have been struggling with the problem of how to at least partially compete with proven classics such as Three Nuts for Cinderella, The Proud Princess or The Crazy Sad Princess, which convey a nostalgic return to childhood for adult viewers.
Of course, their poetics cannot be imitated, so lately the authors of some new fairy tales have tried to overturn the stereotypes of this specific Czech genre in various ways. But they did not please the audience, because Christmas Eve movies in many households complete the atmosphere of the festive evening, similar to frying carp or unwrapping presents under a lit tree. That’s why viewers want to see something on the screens that follows on from tradition and that they already know well.
Filming a Christmas story is a rather thankless task. Some people will not find the princess pretty enough, while others may find the prince too effeminate. Another will be annoyed when current progressive trends, which primarily strengthen the emancipation of female characters, begin to be grafted onto the established genre plan.
It goes better in two
This year’s film The Mystery of the Haunted Castle does not engage in any experiments. On the contrary, he cautiously takes a completely “non-outrageous” path that respects the rules of the genre. This is also confirmed by her true, but not revealing message, which, according to director Ivo Macharáček, reminds us that “everyone should realize that all problems are solved better when one is not alone”.
The story takes place at the Strašperk castle, in whose chambers “spooky tours only for the brave” take place. During them, pictures fall from the walls, chandeliers swing and a headless knight wanders among the visitors. It soon becomes clear that Princess Elvíra, played by Sofie Anna Švehlíková, the nineteen-year-old daughter of actors Jitka Schneiderová and David Švehlík, is having all these attractions staged in order to improve the royal budget.
Not even young Prince Armin, played by Oskar Hess, knows that it is a fraud. After an “initiative” experience from his childhood, he diligently searches for magical beings to prove that they really exist. But after his arrival in Strašperk, people start disappearing in the castle. Therefore, Elvíra, hand in hand with the prince, decides to get to the bottom of these strange events.
No one will be afraid, there’s nothing to worry about
Despite its name, the Christmas Eve novelty is not mysterious or spooky. The character of the butler, personified by Jaromír Dulava, welcomes castle visitors with the words “Don’t be afraid, you will be afraid”, but TV viewers have nothing to fear.
Ivo Macharáček, who in 2011 filmed the successful holiday fairy tale The Secret of the Old Bambitka and ten years later its unsuccessful sequel, wrapped the new story in a neat, colorful and sometimes slightly comical costume. Which is a shame, because today’s school children, who devour fantasy stories, could certainly tolerate a little darkness even on Christmas Day.
The narrative flows at a leisurely pace, which does not change even in the second half, in which several potentially more dramatic situations occur. However, they also lack tension, because it is obvious from the beginning who is the mastermind of the intrigues. If some of the previous fairy tales were criticized by the audience for the sloppy plot, this time, on the contrary, everything flows in a straight line, even too predictably for the given genre.
The mystery of the haunted castle lacks not only a secret, but also a more prominent character, which could have been the princess’s tutor Hortensia, played soberly by Jana Plodková, if more carefully profiled. She and her fellow actors avoid over-the-top creations. The only exception is the overheated grimaces of the representative of the treacherous minister Jiří Mádl. They will remind you of the typical ailment of domestic fairy tales, in which evil is not demonic or threatening, but rather grotesque or shrill.
Traditionally, the prince saves the princess
Screenwriter Tomáš Syrovátka also makes a rare attempt to allude to the present, but it seems rather distracting. Moreover, it is difficult for children to understand their meaning when, for example, a minister starts spewing remarks about “gross domestic product growth”.
“Emancipation” activities are suppressed this time. The main pair fulfill their traditional roles in the sense of “the prince saves the princess”. Although Elvíra organizes haunted tours, she actively participates in only one fencing duel, which also serves more as a backdrop for mutual confessions of love. At 90 minutes, it’s de facto the only real action scene, with rather lackluster choreography.
There are also a few inconsistencies. Although the headless knight’s existence is – like the other ghostly apparitions during the tours – a hoax, the hired youth who represents him continues to wear armor and hold a helmet for reasons that are unclear even in his “off” moments. When the royal father disappears on the balcony, Elvíra does not find his crown at the scene of the crime, but in an adjacent castle chamber. These are small things, but they unnecessarily weaken the logic of the story.
Although the film, which was a Czech-Slovak-German co-production, was filmed in the attractive surroundings of Chyše and Dobříš castles, it seems too “television”. Bad digital tricks also contribute to this. Fortunately, there aren’t many of them.
This year’s Christmas Eve fairy tale probably won’t upset any of the viewers too much, but it won’t surprise anything either. Rather, it will be condemned to oblivion. And he probably won’t see a repeat in the prime team during the Christmas holidays in the following years.
