See You in Hell, Friends

See You in Hell, Friends
Directed byJuraj Jakubisko
Written byJuraj Jakubisko
Karol Sidon
StarringOlinka Bérová
Ján Melkovič
CinematographyJuraj Jakubisko
Edited byPatrik Pašš
Music byFiorenzo Carpi
Release date
  • 1990 (1990)
CountriesCzechoslovakia
Italy
LanguageSlovak

See You in Hell, Friends (Czech: Dovidenia v pekle, priatelia, Italian: Arrivederci all'inferno, amici) is a 1990 surreal comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Juraj Jakubisko. It premiered out of competition at the 47th Venice International Film Festival.

Plot

Cast

  • Olinka Bérová as Rita
  • Ján Melkovič as Petras
  • Nino Besozzi as the Colonel
  • Míla Beran as the Colonel's Father
  • Carlo Capannelle as Father Matthias

Production

The film was conceived during the Prague Spring, with production starting in 1969 only to be interrupted by Communist censorship before shooting had finished.[1] Following the revolutions of 1989, Jakubisko was able to resume the production and to finish the film.[1][2]

Release

The film premiered out of competition at the 47th edition of the Venice Film Festival.[1]

Reception

A contemporary Variety review described the film as "a strange, alienating picture" whose "material seems to have dated badly, because, like much of the late '60s cinema, the frenetic style hasn't stood the test of time".[2] La Stampa's film critic Alessandra Levantesi referred to it as "an allegorical and extravagant fable" characterized by "a grotesque vein, a feeling of the inexorable alternation of life and death, a conception of art as a privileged expression of the spirit, some magic, a pagan religiosity, a very Slovakian surreal inventiveness, some didactic comments, some insistent symbolism".[1] Paolo Mereghetti described the film as "almost a children's version of Sweet Movie filled with cloying Fellini-esque moments".[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Levantesi, Alessandra (14 September 1990). "All'inferno con Jakubisko". La Stampa. No. 214. p. 21. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b Strat. (5 November 1990). "Dovidenia v pekle, priatelia". Variety Film Reviews, Vol. 21. Bowker. pp. 647-8.
  3. ^ Mereghetti, Paolo (2010). "Arrivederci all'inferno, amici". Il Mereghetti 2011. Vol. 1. Baldini Castoldi Dalai. p. 268. ISBN 978-88-6073-626-0.